Challenge of the Kombat
by Rose Mistress
Summary: Yugi and his friends are called by Raiden to help save the world from Shao Kahn. But when they get to the location of the tournament, they are faced with even bigger problems.
1. Character Sheet

Zypher: Ok, when I was looking over reviews for the latest chapter of Tattered Hearts, Red Dragon asked an interesting question which made me decided to write this story. Why? I have no idea, it just sounds like a good idea. I say I'm going nuts with all these crossovers. Anyway, here's my newest story, Challenge of the Kombat.

Disclaimer: Don't own Yugioh or Mortal Kombat, end of story.

Summary: Yugi and his friends are called to help keep a sinister evil from getting through the dimensional gate. But when they get to where the tournament is held, they confront a problem bigger than Shao Kahn. Will their love for the opponent save them or will they be force to kill them to save the world?

Note: This chapter is only the characters sheet. The first chapter will be the next one since I don't have time to write it today.

* * *

Yugi

Fatality - Sends a shadow monster of a different kind to kill opponent

Babality - Baby with a tuff of tri-colored hair

Animality - White Tiger (pounces and devours opponent)

Friendship - Does tricks with a yoyo

Bio - He didn't know of his power to fight until he received an urgent message from Raiden to save the world from Shao Kahn. When he got there, he was fated to fight against friends at some point and soon, two loved ones.

* * *

Yami

Fatality - Two boxes appears and engulfs both characters, Yami's box is impaled with swords and when the doors open, Yami is safe and the opponent is slaughtered.

Babality - Same as Yugi's only with narrowed red eyes

Animality - Large Panther (appears to do nothing and when the opponent turns away, pounces and bites off head)

Friendship - Pulls out headphones and listens to music

Bio- He was already known as a great fighter with his shadow magic and mysterious demon form which only shows when he's extremely angry. He partners up with Aqua in most attacks and doesn't give anyone mercy. When he met Yugi, he and Aqua promised to not harm him or cause his death. Anyone else that tries to do so will be fated to see his demon form which is rare to anyone since he doesn't show it much in battle or else it would be too easy of a victory.

* * *

Seto

Fatality - Calls the spirit of the Blue Eyes to use White Lightning and char opponent

Babality - A baby with a tuff of brown hair and dark blue eyes

Animality - Blueish-white Dragon (Roars and gulps down opponent)

Friendship - Calls spirit of Blue Eyes to do a light show with White Lightning

Bio - Was the CEO of Kaiba corp until he received a message from Sheeva. He was tempted to not go to the dark side but with the fulfillment of power, he agreed. He uses his hidden power of calling the spirit of a dragon to aid him in battle and also does some co-op attacks with Ruby or Mokuba. There has even be saying that he also does a delta attack with Ruby and Mokuba that kills an opponent worse than his fatality. He harbors feelings for Jou but doesn't say anything, worrying that he may be pitted against him in a deadly fight.

* * *

Ruby

Fatality - Summons a bladed staff in hand and chops opponent's head off and then slices the body in half

Babality - Baby sphinx with ruby red fur

Animality - Large Fox (Tricks opponent into a hidden trap and devours severed head)

Friendship - Does a juggling act

Bio - He was in another country when he received the message from Sheeva about Shao Kahn. He wasn't going to do it but when he heard that Seto and Mokuba agreed, he decided to join as well. He tries hard to gain Kaiser's trust but it seems harder with Jou's current attitude towards Seto.

* * *

Diamond

Fatality - Summons a silver bow and arrow and shoots opponent which seemed to do nothing. After a second, the opponent explodes

Babality - Baby sphinx with white fur

Animality - Giant White Cobra (wraps around opponent and squeezes them until they burst from the pressure)

Friendship - Makes a flock of magical birds fly around in an intricate display

Bio - In secluded areas, she studies her magic and during one of her practices, she was called by Raiden. She accepted the mission and does many partnered attacks with Ryou. After meeting Crimson, she tends to avoid him but knew it wouldn't last long with his advances.

* * *

Ryou

Fatality - Calls Saints to take opponent away into the air. After a few seconds, he is showered with the blood of the opponent.

Babality - Baby with a tuff of white-silver hair

Animality - Artic Fox (uses learned magic from Diamond to freeze opponent before knocking them down and shattering their body)

Friendship - Plays a song from a flute

Bio - Just like Diamond, he studies magic and sometimes trains with her to build it up more. When he received the message from Raiden, he decided to help out so he can meet new people, at least those that he didn't have to fight. He currently has a debate on whether Bakura is good or evil after they first met.

* * *

Bakura

Fatality - Summon fire from the depths of the Underworld to char opponent

Babality - Same as Ryou only with a darker shade of hair.

Animality - Jackal (Tackles opponent down and rips through their chest, grabbing his/her heart and devours it)

Friendship - Makes a few figures from the Underworld fires and makes them dance.

Bio - He was known to be a great thief and Shao Kahn wanted him on his side. He agreed and when he actually made it to the tournament that was being held between his forces and those of Raiden's, he met Ryou. He now has a conflict with gaining trust within Ryou since the boy was wary of him. He does many partnered attacks with Crimson, most of them being sneaky enough that they may knock out the opponent.

* * *

Jou

Fatality - Calls spirit of Red Eyes to carry opponent off into the air and then dive-bomb opponent into the ground

Babality - Baby with tuff of golden-blonde hair

Animality - Cheetah (pounces on opponent and claws at them until they're nothing but bone and tattered muscle)

Friendship - Plays with small puppy dog

Bio - He thought he and Kaiser were living a normal life until Raiden gave them a message and they took the mission so their sister wouldn't get hurt if Shao Kahn had his way when he came through the dimensional gate. He currently has some sort of rivalry with Seto but deep inside, he harbored feelings for the teen but knew it wouldn't last long if they were pitted against each other.

* * *

Kaiser

Fatality - Whispers a short incantation and the opponent turns to stone. If on the Pits, Dead Pool or Kwatan Palace field, he will chuck opponent into pool of acid/lava.

Babality - Baby sphinx with golden-yellow fur

Animality - Sabertooth Tiger (impales opponent with sharp teeth)

Friendship - Paints a picture of opponent

Bio - He joined Jou to help save the world from Shao Kahn. He too thought that he had a normal life until this point and knew he would have to do his best. He tries to get along with Ruby but for some reason, a force holds him back from what he truly wants. He wonders if it could be a fact that Ruby is on Shao Kahn's side.

* * *

Aqua

Fatality - Disappears from sight and all you can see is knives being impaled into opponent. He reappears and snarls before ripping the opponent's head off.

Babality - Dragonling with black scales and red eyes

Animality - Raptor (jumps on opponent and devours him/her slowly)

Friendship - Reads storybook

Bio - He too was a great fighter next to Yami and never revealed his demon form to any opponent unless angered enough. When he met Yugi, he knew he may change his and Yami's lives for the better. The only problem was dealing with Anzu's her advances to try and kill Yugi when no one's around so he decided to stay in the shadows to watch over him until he and Yami believe it's time to tell him how they felt.

* * *

Anzu

Fatality - Uses fairy magic to make opponent convulse before they fall to the ground, dead.

Babality - Baby with tuff of brown hair and lighter blue eyes

Animality - Giant Butterfly (swoops down and takes opponent out of sight to kill them off later)

Friendship - Makes a conversation

Bio - She was a normal girl until Shao Kahn came to her, granting her great power for her services. She agreed to help for reasons unknown. When she met the team that was Shao Kahn's assorted fighters, she fell in love with Yami and Aqua and tends to try and speak with them alone to try and get what she wants. But she fails when she realized most of their attention is focused on Yugi and decided to go after him to destroy him.

* * *

Pegasus

Fatality - Summons a small cartoon alligator with a small axe. Tricks opponent into thinking it's harmless until it decapitates opponent.

Babality - Baby with tuff of straight silver hair

Animality - Pegasus (rears up before stomping opponent into the ground repeatedly)

Friendship - Gives opponent a plush toy

Bio - He was a normal person until Motaro came to him, saying Shao Khan would grant him powers unimaginable for his help to get past the dimensional gate. He uses tactics based off cartoons to get rid of his opponents since they wouldn't suspect cartoons.

* * *

Siegfried

Fatality - Calls Valkyries to slice opponent to death

Babality - Baby with pink tuff of hair

Animality - Condor (Grabs opponent with talon and takes them out of sight. Ripping and tearing is all you can hear)

Friendship - Calls Valkyries to do circus tricks

Bio - Wanting to become the best business in all of Domino, he agreed to Shao Kahn's request, dragging his brother along. But when his brother told him what he was doing was wrong, he was about to kill him when Keara came to help him and take him to Raiden's side. He vowed to make sure his brother was taken care of for denying to help him with making the Schroeder company big.

* * *

Dartz

Fatality - Summons Leviathan to use a storm blast to kill opponent

Babality - Baby with tuff of turquoise hair

Animality - Giant Sea Serpent (Summon tsunami to wash opponent away into a hole filled with sharp pointed rocks)

Friendship - Summons a large pool which a smaller version of Leviathan was in and makes him jump through a hoop

Bio - Wanting to gain enough power to be able to keep Leviathan out for a longer period of time, he goes to Shao Kahn for help. He gains the power he needed but he has to return the favor by getting him through the dimensional gate.

* * *

Leon

Fatality - Summons a large storybook that sucks up the opponent. Inside, opponent is slashed and gashed by the fictional characters until he/she is dead.

Babality - Baby with tuff of red-violet hair

Animality - Wolf (Howls which causes a shock-wave sharp enough to slice opponent in half)

Friendship - Summons a small wolf to play with

Bio - Being brothers with Siegfried may make you think that he's on the evil side but he didn't want to be part of it if it means destroying the world. Because of his defiance, he was almost killed but was helped by Keara and was taken to Raiden's side, making new friends and made a vow to defeat his brother.

* * *

Syrus

Fatality - Throws multiple daggers at opponent, pinning them to the wall then he throws one last dagger into opponent's head

Babality - Baby with tuff of light turquoise hair

Animality - Winged Serpent (swoops down and bites off opponent's head)

Friendship - Plays a game of darts using daggers

Bio - A gentle kid that's very shy. When he met Yugi and his friends, he learned that his shyness may cause him his life in a tournament such as this so he trains with Diamond to learn new skills and also free the beast soul the rests within him. Is known to do a few partnered attacks with Diamond for her generosity.

* * *

Mokuba

Fatality - Summons a monster from a choice of five in his Capsule Monster set and kills opponent (varies with which one he uses and how much strength he has after the battle)

Babality - Baby with tuff of obsidian black hair

Animality - Serval (Jumps onto opponent, biting down onto their neck until they die)

Friendship - Makes three of the Capsule monsters play with a jump rope

Bio - A young kid with a special power so he always stays beside his brother to keep his powers a secret from others. When Seto was called to help, he didn't want to be left out and with enough of an argument with him and Ruby, he came and used his powers to help him get out of situations that could cause his death.

* * *

Crimson

Fatality - Claws extend and he slices opponent to ribbons

Babality - Baby sphinx with black fur and menacing red eyes

Animality - Anaconda (Hisses menacingly before devouring opponent)

Friendship - Make balloon animals

Bio - He too was a great thief beside Bakura and that what make their partnered attacks so deadly. When he gotten to the tournament, he chose a side but he didn't worry about many of the fighters until he saw Diamond and started to try and coax his way into her heart before he loses the chance.

* * *

Keara

Fatality - Calls upon Veeshan to crush opponent.

Babality - Dragonling with red scales and black eyes

Animality - Red Dragon (chars opponent with red fire and eats remains)

Friendship - Makes small pictures with smoke clouds

Bio - She is a dragon that is seen helping the Mother of Dragons with the Lands of Norrath. When she noticed the disturbance of time and space, she goes to help out, making many friends and many enemies. She keeps her form as a dragon hidden unless doing her fatality or animality and also tends to be a matchmaker for some of them when she see the clear attraction they show one another without the other noticing. Does some partnered attacks with Yugi, Yami or Aqua.

* * *

Malik

Fatality - Calls upon spirit of the Winged Dragon of Ra and chars opponent til they're nothing but ashes.

Babality - Baby with tuff of white-blond hair.

Animality - Cougar (Pounces on opponent and bite down on his/her neck, ripping out their throat)

Friendship - Calls for chibi version of Ra to do tricks

Bio - He and Topaz wanted to have a life of adventure and didn't know they were going to get it so soon. When Raiden asked for their help, he immediately jumps up to the offer. But the downfall to it is that he doesn't know whether to believe Marik and what he says since he himself despises Marik and his tricks.

* * *

Marik

Fatality - Summons shadows to engulf him and opponent. After a while, the shadows disappear and Marik licks lips in satisfaction, blood coating his hands.

Babality - Same as Malik only with spiked up hair.

Animality - Dilophosaurus (Spreads frills and hisses menacingly before spitting venom at the opponent and watches as their skin melts off from the venom)

Friendship - Does balacing plates trick

Bio - He too had the same problem as Bakura but had the gall to confront Malik various times. He joined Shao Kahn's side but after learning about Malik, he wanted him to join him, not for the power but to be by his side. The difficult part was getting him to join since he's already on Raiden's side and Raiden told him about what's going on. He does partnered attacks with Toben early in battles that may kill the opponent before the opponent can even make a move but at the most will be limit to one before attacking on his own.

* * *

Topaz

Fatality - Pulls out a bottle and drinks from it before breathing fire back towards the opponent, burning them to ashes.

Babality - Baby sphinx with white-blond fur

Animality - Troodon (Slashes opponent with claws repeatedly)

Friendship - Uses fire to make fireworks

Bio - Like Malik, he was looking for an adventure and when Raiden called for them, he wasn't going to be left out. With his new power released, he was ready to fight but he had a bigger problem on his back and that's Toben.

* * *

Toben

Fatality - Eyes glow red as he becomes a more demonic form of himself and crushes opponent with paws.

Babality - Baby sphinx with a daker shade of white-blonde and wine red eyes

Animality - Large Hyena (Cackles madly before attacking opponent, bitting their head off and devouring it)

Friendship - Plays with kickball

Bio - Being known as a partner in crime, he always stays beside Marik's side, no matter what the consequences are. Of course, when he see Topaz, he knew he had to either change his ways or loose the sphinx to whatever fate lies for him since he was fighting against Shao Kahn.

* * *

Zypher: Well, that's all for the character sheet, if you have any suggestions on new characters, tell me in your reviews and I'll add them. As for Syrus, if you've been watching Yugioh GX as of now, you'll know who he is. If not, he's the small, turquoise haired boy in Osiris (Slifer) Red dorm who, in my mind, reminds me of Yugi greatly and is friends with Jaden (Juudai). Anyways, review if you have any suggestions either with characters or changes on fatalities, friendlies or animalities. I'll get working on the first chapter.


	2. New Earth Warriors and Dark Warriors

Zypher: As promised, here's the first chapter to Challenge of the Kombat. Enjoy.

Note: A reviewer gave me suggestions for two more characters (which I realize I never though of) so here's their info:

Vivian

Fatality - Throws poison darts at opponent. Him/Her convulses before dropping dead and she tears off head for show

Babality - Baby with tuff of back hair and wears a smaller version of her outfit

Animality - Panda (growls before pouncing on opponent and tearing of his/her head)

Friendship - None

Bio - She joined onto Shao Kahn's side to see what the tournament was all about. She teams up with Anzu to separate Yugi, Yami and Aqua for she has an infatuation with Yugi when she first meets him. But she didn't know that would get her in a lot of trouble with Yami and Aqua once they find out.

Mai

Fatality - Her hands become claws and she tears at her opponent until they're nothing but chunks of flesh

Babality - Baby with tuff of wavy blond hair

Animality - Harpy (Screeches loud enough to cause opponent to explode)

Friendship - Brings out two fans and does a short, Chinese like dance with them

Bio - She joined the tournament for the thrill of it. She didn't know the trouble she was going to get by joining on Shao Kahn's side but she then learned about Jou and liked him when she first saw him. But the problem with that is she couldn't get close without Seto finding out so she devises a plan to get him without Seto noticing and it only works for only so long since there are others that keep an eye on him for Seto.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 1

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Yugi was sitting at home, glad to finally be out of school once and for all. He was in the living room, reading a book until he heard a knock at the door. He got up and walked towards the door and opened it. He looked around, not seeing no one there and then looked down, seeing a package there.

_'I wonder what this could be?'_ he wondered as he picked up the box and went back inside. He sat down on the couch and opened the package, seeing a scroll and a medallion with a dragon etched onto it. He picked up the scroll and opened it, seeing a message written on the papyrus.

_Dear Yugi Motou,_

_I am Raiden and I have sent this message to you to ask for you help. A sinister evil by the name of Shao Kahn is trying to escape the Dimensional Gate with help from his Queen who happens to be reborn somewhere on Earth. I cannot interfere much so I sent this message to you and some others that are protected from Shao Kahn. _

_Although he is stuck on the other side of the Dimensional Gate, he still has access to sent out a message to those that he want on his side to fight for him. Between the breach where the Outworld and the Earth realm meets is going to be a tournament against the Earth Warriors and his warriors._

_You have hidden powers that will help you so I ask you, will you accept this invitation and save the world from Shao Kahn's wrath as a warrior of the Earth?_

_Raiden_

Yugi looked over the note once more before picking up the medallion. It glowed softly and Yugi knew that he should help in some way. _'If I could help save the world along with the other Earth Warriors, I want to do everything I can.'_ Yugi thought and the medallion glowed even more, engulfing him in the bright light.

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In another part of the world, three figures stood before a giant gate. Inside the gate was a shadowed figure. /I have called you here to ask for your services. Somewhere out in the Earth realm is a person that has a special ability that will help us win a tournament being held that would decide whether I go free or stayed locked up in the dimensional gate. I want you to win this tournament with their help and free me and if you do.

/I will grant you powers unimaginable. But right now, the tournament won't start until Raiden summons all the warriors he needs to represent the Earth. So, I want you three to go out and look for those particular warriors that wish to gain more power by working on my side. While you're at it, my queen should be reborn so bring her as quickly as possible and I can get out of here sooner./ The figure spoke and they nodded.

/Shang Tsung, I want you to become the leader of the group that you three assemble. Defeat those Earth Warriors and give me the freedom I deserve./ he said and Shang nodded. "Yes, Shao Kahn." he murmured before looking to the other two. "Sheeva, Motaro. Come on. We got work to do before this tournament starts." he said and they nodded before they all disappeared to the earth realm.

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Yugi finally arrived at the meeting place of the Earth Warriors and looked around. He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see a girl with blond hair standing behind him. "Hey there. Were you summoned by Raiden?" she asked and he nodded.

"I'm Yugi, who are you?" he asked. "Sonya Blade. Come on. I'll take you to where the others are." Sonya said and led him over to a temple that was made for them by Raiden. They walked inside and she led him over to the main room where everyone was gathered. Yugi immediately recognized some of them.

"Jou? Malik? Is that you?" he questioned and they turned to him. "Hey, Yugi! So you got summoned by Raiden too, didn't you?" Jou asked and he nodded. "Yeah. Is anyone else here?" Yugi questioned as he went to sit down.

"Yeah, everyone is here. Ryou, Kaiser, Topaz, Diamond. Even Keara." Malik said. "Really. I guess Raiden does need alot of help then." Yugi said. "Yeah, he does." Another voice spoke and a man came though the door. "So, you're the new recruit. Nice to meet you. I'm Jax." he said.

Yugi nodded. "Nice to meet you, Jax." He laughed and patted his back, almost knocking him off the chair. "I can see you may turn out to be a strong one. Once you gain your hidden power from Raiden, I would like to be your sparring partner." Jax said before leaving out to look for Sonya who left a little while ago so Yugi can talk with his friends. "Well, I can see you already made a new friend, Yugi. Jax is a pretty nice guy with some good skills." Jou spoke. He nodded once more before looking to them.

"So, what did he mean by hidden power? Raiden told me that in the scroll he sent me." Yugi asked. "What he meant is that we were chosen with powers that the previous Earth Warriors have which is the ability to become an animal based on your personality, the ability to be able to kill someone with a fatal move and a weird one which is to make someone into a baby. Those are called Animality, Fatality and Babality." Diamond explained as she walked in with Keara.

"Really? But how could I have such powers like those?" Yugi asked again. He thought of himself as a nice person so he really couldn't see himself doing a fatality to anyone.

"I know, Yugi, but even the most innocent person could have a dark side hidden within them. This tournament will reveal them but if the Earth Warriors win, you may never have to show them again unless Shao Kahn tries to break free from the Dimensional Gate or worse, the Dragon King is reborn." A voice said and they turned to see Raiden standing there. Jax, Sonya and four others came into the room. "Glad to see you back, Raiden. Are you here to free their hidden power?" Sonya asked.

"Yes but I need the other three. Where is Kaiser, Topaz and Ryou?" Raiden asked. "I'll go get them." Keara said and left once more. "While she is doing that, I will tell you what you need to do. Shao Kahn's queen, Sindel, happened to be revived somewhere in the Earth Realm. Liu Kang and Kung Lao, I want you two to do everything you can to find her before any of Shao Kahn's recruited warriors finds her and frees him from the dimensional gate.

"Yugi, you and your friends along with Sonya, Kabal and Jax will enter the tournament to defeat whatever warriors he sends out to try and defeat the Earth Warriors so he wouldn't have no one to interfere with his plans. I hope you will all do you best." Raiden said and they nodded.

Keara came back in with Ryou, Topaz and Kaiser. "Now, step up Ryou, Jou, Malik, Yugi, Kaiser, Diamond and Topaz and I shall grant you your powers." Raiden said and they did so. He raised his staff and with a short bolt of lightning that hit it momentarily, he pointed the staff towards them and bolts of lightning surrounded them.

They all felt their powers rising within them and once the bolts dissipated, they were dressed differently and had a weapon with them. "Hey, nice weapons. But why do we need them, Raiden?" Ryou asked.

"They may come in handy. I have a good feeling they will. I suggest you all train with Sonya and Jax at least until the week of the tournament. When the day of the tournament comes, I will come back to test your strength, fatality power and animality power.

"I suggest you all start training now so you can be at least a little prepared for anything that may try to come and defeat you before the day of the tournament." Raiden said and they nodded before saying their goodbyes as he left.

"Well, you heard the Thunder God, let's get to training and we'll show you how to do you fatalities, babalities and animalities. Even some friendlies if you think they're needed which I doubt when it comes to Shao Kahn warriors." Jax spoke and they nodded once more as they all headed towards the training arena.

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Back at the dimensional gate, Shao Kahn waited for Sheeva and Motaro to return. They came back and with them were twelve people. /Were they the only people you could find?/ he asked. "Yes, Master Kahn. They had a very dark aura within them and we could tell they would be handy with taking care of those warriors for you quick and efficiently." Sheeva said. /Good, good. Tell me your names and what powers you have so that I will remember them./ Shao Kahn said.

They others introduced themselves and Kahn praised Sheeva and Motaro for their find. /Very good. Since the tournament is a few weeks away and you all sound powerful enough, I want you to head over to the temple Raiden gave to the Earth Warriors and examine them and their abilities.

/I have heard from Tsung that he has called for some more to join with Sonya and Jax. Watch them closely and tell me what you learned from them. If you get enough I will make you honorary warriors of my side./ Kahn said and they nodded although Leon, Siegfried's younger brother, had a bad feeling that something may happen. _'But it could be for the best. I know they don't want to fight on his side but with the promise of power, how would they deny it?'_ Leon thought.

/When you win this tournament and I am freed from this prison, I will grant you all powers that you can never imagined./ Kahn said. "Fine, fine. Can we go now?" Bakura questioned, now becoming impatient. Motaro growled and went over to him to teach him a lesson but Bakura heard him coming and he jumped over his head, landing on his back and grabbed his horns, pulling him back and rendering him motionless. "If I was you, horse boy, I wouldn't try to mess with me." he snarled and Motaro growled before nodding. He let go of him and jumped off his back.

"Come on, let's get going and see what this thunder god has set up for us to fight." Marik said. They nodded and left from the dimensional gate. Sheeva and Motaro watched as they left before turning back to the gate. "And what should we do?" Motaro asked.

/Well, seeing your performance, Motaro, you both start training harder and prepare for the tournament as well. I will not tolerate any weakness in my forces./ Kahn said and they nodded as they left once more to train in an arena that was nearby.

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Zypher: Well, that's all for the first chapter. Hoped you enjoyed it and will review.


	3. Animalities and Unexpected Meetings

Zypher: Hi hi everybody! I decided to break from the Halloween fics for a bit since I'm getting close to being done with one soon. Yay! But anyways, here's the next chapter to Challenge of the Kombat. Also, two new characters. These might be the last ones for a while. I might add in Zane for the heck of it but it won't be until a later chapter since I'm running out of ideas for animalities and fatalities.

Chazz

Fatality: Summon up the armor of the Chthonian Soldier and slashes opponent to death

Babality: A baby with tuff of greyish black hair

Animality: Wolfhound (my version from Cursed Accommodations)(gorges on opponent with no remorse)

Friendship: None

Bio: He wanted to join only to get power. Many blame this because of his brothers' influence but he wanted this so he could take them down along with anyone that gets in his way.

Bastion

Fatality: Summon Water and Pyro Dragons to kill opponent

Babality: A baby with tuff of hair almost the same shade as Chazz, only slightly lighter

Animality: A mix of the fire and water dragons (use a fire/water combination breath that kills opponent in a flurry of fire and ice needles in the water)

Friendship: None

Bio: A friendly guy that make many friends once he joins up with the Earth Warriors during the tournament. His powers over the forces of the elements helps him in battle.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 2

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Once they were outside, they started training. Yugi trained with Jax, Diamond with Sonya and Jou with Kabal. The others sat out and watched them, eagerly waiting for their turn. "Ok, Yugi. Now let's try for your animality." Jax said and he nodded.

"Now, look inside your soul and see the animal that you are meant to be. Use your new powers to shift into the animal." Jax spoke and Yugi nodded as he concentrated quietly. Soon, he saw the form of a white tiger appear before his mind's eye and he concentrated even harder, feeling his form shifted until he was standing on all fours.

He opened his eyes, which were now a vivid green and looked up to Jax. /Did it work?/ he asked and Jax nodded with a grin. "Yeah it did. You're a white tiger. A rare one as far as I have seen animalities." Jax complemented, grinning even more.

Yugi smiled before making a move to pounce on Jax. He moved out the way in time and Yugi pouted. /Hey, I was suppose to catch you. How am I suppose to get my opponent if they move?/ he questioned.

"Well, you can't always rely on your opponent to stay still unless they're in shock of seeing your animality, you have something to keep them in place or you get them unexpectedly. Remember, Yugi, this is a tournament of life and death, you will have to fight your best and your strongest. Nothing can get in your way of doing so if you don't want to risk your life." Jax implored and Yugi nodded before he trained with Jax some more before switching training opponents.

After a while, they took a break. "Ok, let's see, for animalities, we have a white tiger, dragon, lion, giant white cobra, arctic fox, cheetah, saber-tooth tiger, cougar, troodon, hawk and a skeletal rhino. I think we may just do better this time than before." Sonya said.

Jou looked to her. "You've fought in a Mortal Kombat tournament before?" he asked. "Yeah, we all did, most for different reasons but all in all, we worked together and defeated Shao Khan and killed his queen. After that, some left and some may come back but we may never know until the day of the tournament." Kabal replied.

"Would you mind telling us what happen the last time you fought in a Mortal Kombat tournament? This may help us know what we'll be up against." Ryou said. They nodded and started to tell them of their experience in the last Mortal Kombat, unaware they were being watched.

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Yami and the other watched from the shadows of the trees, oddly intrigued by their opponents. "They all look pretty weak to me. They shouldn't be too difficult to kill." Dartz said. "Remember that old saying, Dartz. Looks can be deceiving. I say we watch them a little while longer before we go back to report to Khan what Earth warriors the thunder god has ready for us." Yami spoke. _'Besides, I want to know this intriguing mystery that is my look alike.'_ Yami thought as he left, Aqua following behind him.

The others left as well, also intrigued by someone but wasn't going to get themselves involved as much before the tournament day.

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The girls were walking through the temple, having made it in without attracting much attention and decided to talk about the new Earth warriors. "So, did you see that blond haired boy? I think he was pretty handsome." The woman with wavy blond hair said. "Ah, forget him. I like the cute one that resembles Yami." The Chinese girl with black hair said.

"Man, how can you both think of them? They're on the side we have to go against. I rather go for someone that's already on our side. Yami and Aqua has my heart and I will get there's soon enough." The last girl with short brown hair said.

"You should give up. I was watching them and they seemed to have their eyes set on someone else." The first girl said. "Oh, what do you know, Mai? I'm sure that once they get used to me being around, they will fall for me just as easy." The girl said once more.

"I would place a bet on that, Anzu. Let's just see who can win Yami and Aqua's heart. I'm pretty sure the boy Vivian in interested in will get to them first without knowing it." Mai said.

"Hey! No fair! I saw him first!" Vivian said, cheeks puffed out in anger at the thought. "Well, let's just see. If you can be with that boy, then Yami and Aqua may give up on him if not kill you for getting him first but you'll never know until it happens." Mai said before walking of out the temple to leave the two girls to ponder on their situation.

_'Since they'll be busy with that, I'll see about meeting my own boy of my dreams.'_ Mai thought as she walked towards the training arena.

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They continued to train while Jax, Sonya and Kabal headed back inside to fix up something for lunch, still unaware that the Dark warriors of Shao Kahn was roaming around unnoticed. In the training arena, Yugi was in his animal form once more and tried to tackle down Diamond but she was quick and her being a snake made it harder but he knew he would need this kind of training in order to prepare for what's to come.

/Come on, Yugi, try harder. One of your opponents may be just like me without being in some sort of animal form so you need to prepare for what kind of movement they'll may make./ Diamond said and he nodded as he prepare to pounce once more.

Not far away, Yami and Aqua were watching. Yami was still very intrigued by their similarity and wanted to know more about him. But he knew he would only learn so much since he's on Kahn's side and soon enough, he will have to go against him.

_'This is bad, though. I really would like to learn more about him but with us being on different sides, it won't be possible nor easy.'_ Yami thought. They weren't ready though when Yugi pounced but Diamond dodged in time and he crashed into where they were hiding but quick reflexes kept them from being hit.

Yugi shook his head as he got up and look towards them. He gasped when he saw them. _'That boy, he looks so much like me. But I never saw him before so I can only assume that's he's on Shao Kahn's side.' _Yugi thought and growled.

/What are you doing here?/ Yugi demanded.

"We only came here to see what going on."

/But why? I never seen you around here before so I can only say that you must be on Shao Kahn's side so I suggest you leave now or I'll be forced to fight you here and now./

_'Hmm, so he is truly an Earth warrior. Truly saddening to know but for now, I will agree to his request.'_ Yami thought and nodded. "Fine, we'll leave but I only ask one thing of you."

/And what's that?/ he questioned, watching him with a careful eye to make sure there wasn't any chance for a surprise attack from one of them.

"What is your name?"

/I'm Yugi./ he answered. He didn't know what compelled him to tell them his name but he felt as if something good may happen soon. _'But what is what I don't know.'_ he thought before he heard Diamond calling for him, now worried that he may have gotten himself hurt.

He turned back to see if she was coming and not seeing her yet, he turned back towards where Yami and Aqua were but saw they were gone. He sighed lightly and headed back out before he worried anyone else.

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Jou went to take a walk, wanting to take a break from their training right now. He really did hope that they will succeed with keeping Shao Kahn from being freed from the dimensional gate but he was having his doubt.

Yes, he was an exceptional fighter but that was before this. It was all a matter of life and death. His worries lied in whether his friends would survive during this tournament of death.

While he was lost in thought, he wasn't watching where he was going and soon crashed into Mai who just came out from the forested area that surrounded the path he was walking on. "Oh crap. I'm so sorry for crashing into you." Jou said as he got up and helped up Mai as well.

"It's nothing. No injuries sustained here. What got you so caught up that you wasn't watching where you was going?" she asked, glad that he didn't realized that she wasn't even part of the team. He told her of what he had to go through and she listen with interest, never noticing that Seto was watching, a scowl on his face as he saw Mai making conversation with Jou.

_'How dare you. I may not have said anything or showed any reaction to seeing these Earth Warriors but I saw him first. I won't let you have him.'_ Seto thought bitterly as he left silently.

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"Well, it's getting close to noon, I best be going now." Mai said and Jou nodded. "Yeah, I better be getting back as well before my friends wonder where I went to." Jou added and soon left after saying goodbye.

"I have an odd feeling that he knows I'm not part of their team. But he never said anything. Maybe I have a slight chance with him after all." Mai spoke. "Not on your life, Mai." A voice hissed as Seto came out from the foliage.

"What do you mean?" she questioned as she turned to him. "I saw him first and I'm not letting you get him." he replied. Her eyes narrowed as she looked to him. "Really? Well let's just see. We may be Dark warriors for Shao Kahn but if we do win this tournament and we get what we want, if one of us doesn't have him by the end of the tournament and if we're not dead, we'll settled this little dispute then. But I advise you, Kaiba, I'm not letting you have a chance at even seeing him." she hissed before walking off.

Seto glared at her back before leaving as well into another direction. _'Same here, Mai. Same here.'_ he thought.

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"Siegfried, I think it's time I tell you that this doesn't seem right." Leon said. Siegfried turned to him. "What do you mean, Leon? This is perfectly fine. Once we win, we'll have the power we need to make our family business the biggest of them all." Siegfried said. "But that's just it. We shouldn't need ultimate power to make the family corporation better. There has to be another way." Leon pleaded.

Siegfried narrowed his eyes as he glanced at his younger brother. "So, you think there's another way do you? I think there isn't. We share this corporation together, Leon, and if you don't think my way is right..." Siegfried started as he pulled out his sword. "Then I guess I'll have to do this on my own." he said. Leon watched the sword warily. "You...you wouldn't really kill me, would you?" he questioned in horror.

"If you dare stand in my way of helping our family business then yes, I will." Siegfried replied with anger and slashed at Leon. But before the blade could even make a mark on him, Leon was lifted off the ground. He clutched onto whoever grabbed him and finally looked up. He saw he was saved by a red dragon. "Who are you?" he asked.

/I'm Keara. What was going on there?/ she asked. He told her his story and she nodded as she landed back at the temple for the Earth warriors. /Well, it's seems you may be better off not joining Shao Kahn's forces. Would you like to become an Earth warrior instead?/ she asked.

"Yeah, I think I would feel much more better here." Leon whispered with a soft smile. She smiled back as she reverted back to her human form and walked inside, Leon following behind her to his new home.

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Zypher: There, done for now. Hoped you like this chapter and will review. Now, I shall be off with working on my Halloween fic.


	4. First Battle

Zypher: Well, I don't have much to say here except for I thank you all for your reviews so I give you the next chapter to Challenge of the Kombat. Enjoy.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 3

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Later that night, Yugi was in his room, pondering on his meeting with Yami and Aqua. _'Why did I give them my name? Is fate taking a turn for the good or is it something else that won't turn out well for me and my friends?'_ he thought. Sonya walked inside, holding a tray in her hands.

She saw Yugi's expression and placed the tray on a nearby table before she went over to sit next to him. "What's wrong, Yugi? Ever since your training with Diamond, you seemed down. Is it something I can help you with?" she asked. Yugi looked up to her and shook his head.

"No, it's nothing. I'll probably find an answer soon enough." Yugi replied. She nodded and got up once more, picking up the tray from the table and gave it to him. "Well, I got you something to eat just in case you were hungry. Have a good rest, Yugi." Sonya said and he nodded once more and watched as she left the room.

He ate what she gave to him and when he was done, placed the tray on the nightstand beside his bed. He sighed softly, looking out the window to the full moon. _'Hopefully I will find an answer.'_ he thought before he slipped under the bedsheets and fell asleep silently.

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Back at the dimensional gate, Dartz and the others gave their report on the Earth warriors. /They don't sound at all threatening. With enough training, you will able to beat them easily./ Shao Khan said. They nodded. /Now, as much as I don't say this, you will all work together to help me get out of here. I do not want failure out of any of you./

"Don't worry, you can count on us to beat these Earth warriors." Marik said. Shao Khan nodded. "Now, go with Sheeva and Motaro and they will take you to the training grounds. Start training and if need be, learn of your animalities./ Shao Khan said and they nodded once more as they followed Sheeva and Motaro to the training grounds.

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As the days went by, each team trained to their hardest, wanting to outlast the other. But sometimes, one of the Dark warriors leave to watch on someone that meets their fancy without them knowing.

Today, Bakura left the group to watch Ryou. Ryou was on the field, concentrating his mind to wield his magic. He was trying out a very difficult spell that he wanted to use as a fatality. Calling the Saints of the Heavens. He knew it was risky but his life on Earth before learning how to wield magic from Diamond and coming here wasn't all that great for him.

Being picked on and beaten because he was weak wasn't something he wanted to go through again. And now that he was in a tournament of life or death, he knew he couldn't be weak or he will lose his life.

Little by little, he called at least one of the Saints to come down. Bakura watched with interest as each winged being landed before Ryou. He sighed softly, breaking his concentration for the moment and looked to the four out of seven saints he was able to call.

_'This is harder than I thought but I can't stop now. I have to be able to summon them all without problems.'_ Ryou thought as he sat down on the ground. One of the Saints looked to him before helping him back up and granted him a little of his power to summon the rest of the Saints.

Ryou thanked him and did so, calling the last three down. He asked them if they wish to become part of his attack after explaining about the Mortal Kombat tournament and the risks that are involved whether they won or not. They nodded and left once more into the heavens. When they were gone, Ryou started concentrating once more so he was able to call them without no strain.

Bakura smirked and started coming out from his hiding place. He walked up behind Ryou, being silent as a prowling tiger.

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Jou walked through the forest, thinking about Mai and where she could've came from. _'If she's a part of Shao Khan's team, I shouldn't be worrying about her but she was so nice and didn't bother trying to start a fight with me. But if she isn't part of Shao Khan's team and she isn't a part of the Earth warriors, where could she have come from and how did she get here?' _Jou thought.

He wasn't watching where he was going once more and bumped into a strong chest and fell back. He didn't feel the impact of the ground and looked around, seeing that he was inches off the ground, being held up by another male.

Seto helped him back up onto his feet and Jou thanked him. "So, what had you so out of it that you wasn't watching where you was going?" he asked. "Well, I was thinking about someone that I met yesterday. But anyways, who are you and what brings you here? You're not a part of Shao Khan's Dark warriors, are you?" Jou asked. "I'm Seto and if I was, what makes you think I would be talking with you instead of starting a fight that could result in one of us being killed." Seto replied.

"Yeah, you do have a point there." Jou murmured. "Well, I'm Jou and it's nice to meet with you, Seto." Seto nodded. "Likewise. So, is there anybody you're waiting for?" he asked as he walked with him along the path.

"Well, I should be with the others training on my fatality and animality but I came out here to maybe meet up with Mai again and talk with her for a while." Jou replied once more. Seto growled and stopped.

When he stopped, Jou did as well and looked to him. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Mai...you shouldn't worry about her. She's nothing but trouble." Seto whispered. "But why? She was really nice to me when I met her yesterday." Jou retorted. "She may have been nice to you then but I know her and she would cause trouble when you least expect it. I advise you stay away from her."

Jou thought about it for a while before nodding. "Alright, if you say she may be a problem, I'll stay away from her." he said. Seto nodded. "Well, I best be going now. Remember what I said." Seto spoke as he walked off ahead of him. Jou watched as he left before heading towards the temple, ready to train again.

Seto smirked as he turned and watched him leave. _'With him not being around Mai now, I will have a better chance of getting him to like and maybe even love me. Of course, I can only hope that would last during the tournament. I can already see his reaction if he finds out I'm one of the Dark warriors of Shao Khan before I can tell him.'_ he thought as he quickly made his way back to the Dark warriors' training area before anyone realized he was gone.

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Mai growled as she hovered above the area where they were talking just moments ago. _'That smug, little brat. He really trying my patience. Well, if he thinks he can keep Jou away from me, let's just see how he likes it if he stays away from him as well.'_ she thought as she flew over Jou and landed on the path a little farther away from him and shifted back into a human, waiting for Jou to come by.

Jou continued to walk, once again deep in thought so he didn't see Mai until she called his name. He looked up. "Oh. Hey, Mai. Why are you here?" he asked. "I came to see you again. Is that so bad?" she questioned. "No, I guess not but I need to get back so maybe we can talk again another time."

"Oh come on, you don't want to talk with me?" she asked.

"Well, I already had a chat with someone else and he told me that you may be trouble." Jou murmured. She laughed softly and placed an arm around his shoulders. "Don't believe all that nonsense. I bet Seto was the one that told you that, didn't he?" she asked and Jou nodded.

"Well, don't listen to him. If it's someone who's going to cause a lot of trouble, it would be him. We have a little grudge with one another that hasn't be settled yet. Since he knows I talk to you, he's trying to make me look bad so you'll stay away from me." Mai explained. Jou was confused for a minute. "Wait, are you trying to say he likes me?" he asked.

"In a way, yeah. But I like you as well so basically, he's trying to fight with me for your affections but I say that you should choose the right person. All I can say is to not let him get to you, go for the person your heart trusts, alright?" she spoke and he nodded, awed with this new information.

_'I only knew Seto for one day and Mai for two and they both like me. This will be a hard decision but hopefully I'll make the right one when I'm ready.'_

"Well, I best be getting back so I'll see you later, Jou." Mai said before she left, waving back to him. Jou waved back before continuing on his way to the temple once more.

_'Phase one complete. Now all I need to do is make sure Kaiba doesn't get near him and try to change his mind. If he makes me look bad in front of Jou, I will kill him myself.'_ she thought as she shifted into a harpy and flew off once more.

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Ryou, still unaware that Bakura was behind him, concentrated on his magic until he felt the disturbance in it and turned just in time to dodge Bakura's attack. "So, you are doing well aren't you? Too bad you will need more than that to win this tournament." Bakura muttered.

"Who are you and what do you want here?" Ryou asked, thinking about whether he should run or stay. But of course, he didn't want to seem weak in front of him so he stayed and prepared to fight.

"My name is none of your concern right now and for why I am here, we're going to fight and if you win, I'll leave you alone but if I win..." Bakura started and Ryou feared the worse.

"What do you want if you win?"

"If I win, I want part of your soul." Ryou looked shocked and backed away. "Why do you want part of my soul?" he asked softly. "Maybe you'll find out in due time but for now, prepare yourself." Bakura spoke as he slipped into his fighting stance.

Ryou did the same, although still out of it after hearing Bakura's request. Bakura charged in first, bringing out his katana and slashed at Ryou. He dodged and brought out his staff and blocked another one of Bakura's swipes but he was punched in the stomach by him, falling back onto the ground.

He rolled out the way as Bakura stabbed his katana in the ground where he was previously. He smirked and pulled the katana from the ground and faced him. "Nice dodging but you will need more than that." he jeered as he whispered a quiet incantation.

Ryou watched silently and saw that the sky seemed to darken. The ground erupted and fire spewed from the cracks in the ground, forming into five figures with flaming swords in hand. "Let see how you can take them on." he said with a smirk still plastered in his face.

Ryou shivered in fear as the flaming figures came at him and he dodged as one slashed at him and just barely blocked one that was aiming for his neck. _'I have to do something about these flaming figures before they kill me.'_ he thought.

He backed away, spacing himself away from them before he used a quick spell to change the clouds from their blood red to a dull grey and showered them with rain. Ryou watched the figures and seeing as they weren't fading away, he started to worry more.

Bakura laughed and looked to him. "These figure aren't normal figures made from plain fire, these are figures made from the pure Underworld fire. They won't be easily smoked by rain." Ryou gulped and watched as the flaming figures came at him once more.

_'Wait, if they made from Underworld fires, then maybe using something holy will get rid of them.'_ Ryou thought as he called for another spell. "I call upon the power of Holy Light!" he shouted, aiming the end of his staff towards the figures and beam of pure white light shot out at them.

They screeched in pain and disappeared back into the cracks in the earth. Ryou smiled, glad he was able to get rid of them but that distraction left him wide open and Bakura appeared in front of him suddenly, shocking him.

"Rule number one of Mortal Kombat, never take your eyes off the true prize." he whispered as he punched Ryou in his stomach once more, winding him. He fell back onto the ground, trying to regain his breath but Bakura placed a foot on his chest, making it harder for him to breath.

"I guess this means you lose." Bakura purred.

Ryou gasped for air before looking up to him. "So what? Other than taking part of my soul...you're going to kill me as well?" he asked. "No, not at all. I still have plans for you. But for now, I'll take what I'll need and leave you alone but this isn't the last time you'll be seeing me." he spoke as he lifted his foot and placed his hand on his chest.

Ryou felt the tug of his soul and watched, eyes widening as he saw Bakura pull a small glowing orb from his chest. He smirked as he looked at the shining white orb. "Pure, just like you." he whispered before pocketing it.

"Now that I have what I need, train harder if you want to live when the tournament comes up." Bakura said before leaving just as silently as he came. Ryou got up, using his staff for support and sighed. _'Well, that didn't go well and now I have to worry about him coming back for more. What will I do?'_ he thought as he made his way back towards the temple.

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Zypher: Well, that's all for this chapter. What does Bakura want with Ryou's soul? Who will win the fight between Seto and Mai? Why am I asking questions right now? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and will review. See you in the next chapter.


	5. Two Battles and a Plan with the Soul

Zypher: Hey hey everyone and welcome to the next chapter to Challenge of the Kombat. I'm glad you all enjoyed the last chapter so let's get this tournament of death on the road! Hope you will enjoy.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 4

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As the days went by, they continued to train, some being sidetracked with visits by the Dark warriors which some didn't know that they were them. When it was the day before the tournament, Raiden came back to test their fatalities.

"Is everyone ready to test their fatalities?" Raiden asked and they nodded. "Alright, Yugi, you're first." he said and Yugi stepped up quietly. He faced the dummy that was set up and closed his eyes, concentrating. Soon, a dark mist started to rise and formed into the form of a wolf.

The wolf howled and looked to Yugi for command. "Silver Fang, attack!" Yugi called, pointing to the dummy. Silver Fang howled once more and leapt for the dummy, tearing into it fiercely. "Good, good. Can you send out others than just him?" Raiden asked and he nodded, dismissing Silver Fang back to his realm.

"Yes, I can send out a variety but sometimes it may depend on my strength at that point. He's the dominate one I can send out if I am too tired to send out another more stronger than him." Yugi explained.

"Understood. Diamond, you're next." Raiden called and she stepped up. They were unaware that they were being watched. Marik and Toben grinned as they watched Malik and Topaz who were waiting for their turn.

"What should we do, Marik?" Toben asked. "We shall crash their little training session. When it's one of their turns, we jump in. I want to test my look alike's abilities and see if he's a worthy opponent to fight against me." Marik explained and Toben nodded, watching them once more. Of course, they will never tell each other of their hidden feelings they hold for Malik or Topaz.

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In the Dark warriors' area, Seto was looking around to make sure no one was watching him leave before he left into the forest. "And where do you think you're going?" Mai asked as she appeared from behind one of the trees.

"Why do you want to know? It's nothing that you need to know."

"You're going to see Jou, aren't you?" she hissed, glaring at him. He glared back. "Yeah and what are you going to do to stop me?" he demanded before turning his back to the fiery girl and started to leave once more but covered his ears as she started to shriek in her harpy form.

"We're going to fight and if we don't kill each other, whoever is still standing will get to talk with Jou during the tournament tomorrow if he doesn't learn that one of us is part of the Dark warriors." Mai spat, claws poised to attack. He snarled and shifted into his dragon form.

"Fine but you better hope I don't clip your wings, birdy." Seto growled.

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As Malik walked up to do his fatality did Marik and Toben jump out from their hiding place, scaring some and shocking others. "Who are you and why are you here?" Keara demanded. They didn't say a word but Leon shied away. "They're Marik and Toben. Two of the Dark warriors with deadly moves that could be worse than their fatality." Leon whimpered.

"Thanks for pointing that out and we plan to use these moves on you and that guy there." Marik said, pointing to Malik and Topaz. "Why us? We haven't done a thing to you." Malik snarled, glaring at him. "So? You caught our interest and we can only pray that you two don't do worse in the tournament tomorrow depending on what happens now"

"Or is it because you two are chicken? Think you can't defeat Dark warriors such as ourselves?" Toben taunted.

"Don't listen to them, Malik. They only trying to provoke you and Topaz." Yugi whispered. "Well, it worked. Fine, we'll battle you two. Should help us prepare for what's to come anyway." he growled, cracking his knuckles. Yugi stepped back and stood next to Raiden. "What should we do? We can't let this happen or they may kill Malik and Topaz."

"As much as I can say I agree, they may not stop until they get what they want whether its fighting them in the tournament or in between battles. It's best to let this play out and see what happens. This will also give you a visual of what you and your friends need to be wary of in the tournament tomorrow with these new warriors." Raiden spoke and he only nodded.

"Ready to die?" Marik asked. "Only if you can catch me off guard." Malik replied angrily before they jumped into battle. Malik brought out his Ahlspiess and countered Marik's weapon. He jumped back before charging once more.

Malik wasn't prepared for the sudden recall in attack and only had time to jump back before he could have a huge gash in his chest from his javelin. His shirt now had a huge rip going across his chest and a thin line of blood of what could've been a fatal wound started to show across his chest but not much.

Topaz wasn't having much of a problem fighting with Toben but he did tend to get good hits, causing him to get rips along his shirt and pants. "Hmm, you are doing well but let's see how you can handle this." Marik whispered, eyes glowing slightly. Toben's eyes were glowing as well and the wind started to pick up.

Malik and Topaz started to watch quietly, seeing what they were up to. "Malik! Topaz! Please watch yourselves! I'm not kidding about their teamed attacks! They can be deadly as their fatality!" Leon cried, holding onto Keara lightly.

They turned to him and nodded before turning back to watch them again but they were gone. "Where did they go that fast?" Topaz wondered but what they didn't notice was the growing shadows beneath them. "Watch out, you two! There's growing shadows beneath you!" Yugi shouted.

They looked down to see menacing red eyes peer up at the before large jaws opened up, ready to clamp down on them. Topaz was quick to react and grabbed onto Malik and flew up, just missed being crushed by the jaws. Marik and Toben appeared once more and looked up to them.

Marik raised his hand, pointing it at them as it became a shadowed claw and it stretched out towards them, ready to grab them. Topaz flew out the way and when Malik told him to, he let him go and he dived down swiftly, ready to impale Marik with his Ahlspiess. Topaz stayed in the air and took out a bottle, taking a quick drink before blowing fire towards Toben.

They both jumped out of the way and Marik jumped back to fight with Malik while Toben took to the air after Topaz.

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In the battle between Seto and Mai, Seto was winning even with the few screeches he had to deal with. They were now fighting with their weapons and Mai was already bloodied from had to toe but she wasn't planning to give up.

"Just back down already. In your state, A: How do you plan to impress Jou and B: How do you plan to stay alive against me better yet in the tournament?" he questioned. She only growled and glared at him.

"I'm not going to lose. You're nothing but a idiotic prick who wants everything that he can see. Besides, what makes you think he would choose _you_ as his lover? Do you even know if he swings that way? I, at least, have a better chance than you anyway." Mai declared.

"All the more reason to take you out of the picture or at least prevent you from getting anywhere near him and telling him more lies." Seto hissed as he charged towards her, sword ready to slash. She dodged out of the way but was unaware that Seto's dragon tail was still out and she was slammed hard into a nearby tree.

She hissed in pain and looked up to Seto who had his sword thrown casually on his shoulder and looking down to her. "Looks like I win. I better not catch you at all watching him or trying to talk with him or I may resort into beheading you and watch you run around like the flailing hen you are." he muttered before walking away.

She only groaned as she got up and left back to the Dark warriors' temple to wrap her wounds before anyone could see her and ask about what happened.

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At said temple, Anzu was quietly watching as Yami and Aqua trained. She was excited to actually catch them training since for as long as she was watching them, it seemed they worried about something else and she wanted to find out if it was the last thing she could do, literally.

_'There's something that makes them tense. Only if I knew cause if it's those pathetic Earth warriors, I'll take care of them myself if needed to make them feel better.'_ she thought.

Yami was practicing with his sword while Aqua was testing out some of his demon magic. Yami sighed as he placed the sword tip on the ground, leaning on it slightly. Aqua turned to him before walking over. "Is something wrong, Yami?" he asked.

"Yes, ever since meeting that boy, Yugi I think his name was, I can't get him out of my thoughts. It feels like I should learn more about him, see if he has a hidden power inside of him. Better yet whether to kill him when the tournament starts. I definitely don't want to do that but Shao Khan will realize that and he may do something." Yami replied.

"Don't worry, Yami. I think the same thoughts but you know we can only do so much. He knows we're on the Dark warriors so chances of us getting near him during the tournament may only result in a short fight with him. We can only convince him so much and chances are if emotions start developing more, we may start to like him, even love him but it will only result in heartbreak because of what we chose to do." Aqua spoke and he nodded.

"You're right and with everything being like this, we will never have a option of going over to the Earth warriors to help them instead of us helping Shao Khan." he murmured with a light sigh.

Anzu strained to hear without having to reveal herself but she could only hear so much. _'So, this Yugi kid is confusing my poor warriors. I have to do something and I think I may know of someone who could help.' _she thought before running off.

Aqua's ears pricked up and he looked around. Yami looked to him. "Did you hear something?" he asked.

"I thought I did but no one is here so it doesn't matter anymore."

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The battle between Marik and Malik along with Toben and Topaz raged on, all four of them starting to tire out. "You won't win. I won't let you." Malik growled as he was currently in a weapon lock with Marik, trying to push him back but he was starting to do the same, pushing him back farther.

"And what will you do to turn this around? You're currently riddled with battle scars and you're starting to become weak. Just tell me what you're planning to do?" Marik asked, looking straight into his eyes.

Malik glared looking right back at him but saw an unknown emotion in them and almost faltered under his gaze. "Only this." he said and concentrated and soon, a large gold form started to appear behind him. Marik backed away, clearly in awe and shock at seeing the god creature appear.

"There's no way. How could you have summoned the Winged Dragon of Ra so easily?" he wondered. "Because, he has been my guardian ever since I was young. No matter whether I'm strong or weak, I can send him out with full potential." Malik answered.

He only watched as the god dragon roared in fury at seeing his master weak and looked down to the source. Marik only smirked and called Toben back who bounded away from Topaz. "Hmm, you may have more power than I thought. Fine, we'll let you win this battle but when it come to the tournament, you better be prepared for more than just a battle." he whispered before they both disappeared in a wave of shadows.

"What does he mean?" Topaz asked, walking over to Malik who was patting Ra's snout lightly before sending him back. "I don't know." he replied before looking over to Leon. "Do you happen to know?" Leon shook his head.

"No, every time when I watch them, they practically mutilate the dummy opponent so I have no clue what he meant by that." They nodded, deep inside worrying about what could be in store for them. Raiden walked over to them and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Do not worry, Malik. After seeing you and Topaz battle, I know you're both prepared for what's to come but I still take the hidden meaning of his words into consideration since it may help you both." Raiden spoke and he nodded. "Now, let's get back to testing your fatalities and then you can all take a break."

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Bakura sat in his room, looking at the glowing sphere with a smirk. "I should've taken more of that boy's soul. Not too much but enough to complete what I wanted. A nice little duplicate of him that I can do what I please until I get the real thing." Bakura murmured as he formed the sphere to look like Ryou's head.

"Only if I had more then he would've been complete. You will be mine, little angel. I'll make sure to have you as my own before the tournament is over." he spoke with a menacing laugh as he caressed the soul replica's face.

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Zypher: And there you have it. That's what Bakura wants with Ryou's soul. How deliciously evil of him. And of me too for writing it XD. But anyways, I hoped you enjoyed that little bout of fun and will leave a good review. I shall see you all in the next chapter where the tournament shall begin and maybe get our first look at one of their fatalities.


	6. Start of the Kombat

Zypher: Hey everyone and welcome to the next chapter of Challenge of the Kombat. Thanks for all your wonderful reviews from the last chapter so I hope you will enjoy this one. So read on everyone.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 5

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Back in the temple for the Earth warriors, Raiden has gathered them all into the sitting room to talk about the tournament that starts tomorrow.

"You all have done we in training that last few days even with the frequent distractions from the Dark warriors. I hope that you all will do as best as you can in the tournament tomorrow and I hope to not hear that we have lost anyone during the tournament."

"Don't worry, Raiden. I have studied on my magics so if there's any fatal injuries that doesn't involve remains being lost, I'll be able to cure or restore them." Keara said.

"That's good, Keara. I will leave the lives of the team in your hands then." Raiden said before he left. Once he was gone, Sonya and Diamond volunteered to make dinner and they relaxed, hoping for the best during the tournament. "Yugi, are you nervous?" Leon asked.

"Yeah, a little. I know I should worry about dying but with all these visits from the Dark warriors, it makes me wonder if they are up to something other than trying to do whatever Shao Khan wants them to do." Yugi replied.

"Yeah, you do have a point and it always seems that Marik or Toben or both in general come back the most to challenge me or Topaz. There's something going on and I will find out during the tournament tomorrow." Malik mumbled.

"Yeah, same for me." Ryou added, still remembering the time he met with Bakura fresh in his mind. _'I still want to know what he wants with my soul in particular.'_ he thought. He got up quietly and Leon looked to him. "Where are you going, Ryou?" he asked. "I'm heading out to train a bit until Diamond and Sonya are done with dinner." Ryou said as he walked out to the back.

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At the Dark warriors' temple, Bakura was lying on his bed, in a light doze. Beside him on a small pedestal was the soul sphere of Ryou's soul which glowed faintly. Soon, it started to brighten up a little and Bakura's eyes snapped opened, looking towards it. "So, he finally left out the temple." he said to himself as he sat up.

"It's about time. I was starting to worry our first meeting frightened him too much." he continued with a smirk as he left out the room. He was stopped in the hallways by Aqua. "And where do you think you're heading?" he questioned.

"I need to do something that doesn't concern you now move out my way." Bakura growled. He did so without question but did say something before he could head downstairs. "Watch yourself around those Earth warriors. I know that you're up to something that involves one of them and they're already wary enough because of Marik and Toben showing their faces around there." Aqua said as he walked off. _'How is it he always knows?'_ Bakura thought acidly before heading downstairs and leaving out.

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Ryou stood outside, concentrating hard enough to see if he could summon all seven Saints at once but that time, he was only able to get six. One granted him more of his power after he was able to bring down the last with a little difficulty and they flew away once more.

He sighed lightly and started to concentrate with adding his newly gained magic with the rest, hoping that when he needed them during the tournament, they will all come down. As he was doing so, he wasn't aware that Bakura was in the shadows, watching him.

_'Beautiful. I can't wait til I have him as my own. And no one will dare try and take him away from me before I do.'_ he thought as he left out from the shadows, pulling out his katana silently. When he was behind him, he still wasn't aware and he raised his katana, ready to slash him. He swung down and hearing the displacement of air, he turned just in time to raise his staff to block the swipe.

"I see you're becoming more alert now." Bakura murmured as he lifted his katana away. "I have to be or else I would be killed like I would've been now." Ryou spoke as he backed away from him, tempted to just head back into the temple while he had the chance.

"Yes, that's true but I wouldn't have killed you. At least I won't let anyone kill you."

"What do you mean? You and the other Dark warriors are all alike, joining Shao Khan just to get power." Ryou spoke harshly, stunning him. While he was stunned, he tried to get back inside the temple but two flaming figures came up from the ground, blocking his way inside.

He was going to use some Holy Light on them but was pulled back and he turned to look up at Bakura who was now standing behind him. "You really think I want power? At first yeah but as for now, I don't need power for I have something else in mind to get."

"Then what does that have to do with me?" he questioned, getting back up. He swung his katana towards him and he blocked him, quickly dodging the kick coming towards his side. "You'll find out soon enough during the tournament depending if we battle each other. But for now, same things apply from last time. If you win, I'll leave you alone. If not, I get more of your soul." Bakura said as he summoned more fire figures and sent them towards Ryou.

They charged in, barely giving him enough time to cast the holy spell so he resorted to blocking them so they couldn't hit him.

_'I need to finish him off before the others come out here to look for me.'_ he thought as he backed them off long enough to cast his holy light spell on them. When they were gone, Bakura charged in himself and started slashing at him, kicking him when he wasn't watching. He rolled over the ground and moaned pitifully as he tried to stand again.

"Your training hasn't helped you at all did it? You can't even stand up to me after the last time. I will not tolerate this in the tournament cause I don't want to lose you in battle! Now stand!" he growled, looking to him.

Ryou finally got up after some agonizing seconds and glared at him. "I won't let you beat me." he whispered as he ran towards him, staff ready. Bakura blocked his first hit but like how he did to him, he wasn't prepared for the second swing to his side. He winced in pain, surprised that he was able to get a hit in.

While his katana was down, he swung again, this time hitting him in his chest, knocking him back. He didn't move at all and Ryou walked up towards him, wondering if he beat him. His eyes snapped opened and he smirked, tendrils of flames sprouting up and wrapping around Ryou.

He struggled to get out of the binds but they only tightened around him. "Next rule. Never check upon your opponent. You don't want to get caught in a situation worse than this, do you?" he asked and Ryou shook his head.

"But either way, you lose again and I get my prize." Bakura spoke as he stood up and placed a hand on Ryou's chest, taking a bigger soul sphere than before. "This should be enough." he said as the flames let him go. He dropped to the ground and he looked up to him. "Why don't you just kill me and take the rest of my soul for whatever is it you need it for?" Ryou asked.

"Because your soul is only half to what I truly want from you." Bakura whispered before leaving once more. _'What does he mean?'_ he thought to himself before dusting himself off as best as he could before heading inside.

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Yami was in his shared room, quietly meditating. He broke out of his concentration when someone came into the room and groaned when he saw it was Anzu. "What is it you want?"

"Just wanted bring you something to eat. I made it myself."

"Leave it on the table and you can go." Yami muttered as he went back to meditating. "Before I go, I just wanted to ask you one thing."

"Then hurry and tell me. You're ruining my concentration." he growled, opening one eye to look at her.

"I just wanted to know, is something bothering you and Aqua at all that I can take care of?"

"No. We're fine, now leave."

"I know something is bothering you and revolves all around this Yugi kid. Who is he?"

He growled and looked to her. "It's none of your concern and how did you know about him anyway?" he demanded, standing up from his bed. "I heard you speaking to Aqua about him and if he's doing something to make you worry or is burdening you, I will take care of him in the tournament tomorrow." Anzu spoke.

"You will do no such thing. If we must deal with him, we deal with him ourselves. If I catch you even harming a single hair on his head, I'll tear off yours." She gaped in horror and her eyes narrowed. "No, I refuse. I won't let him burden you anymore. If I ever find out who Yugi is, I will kill him." Anzu hissed before leaving the room.

He snarled as he stood up. "I need to warn Yugi about her and her futile attempts but how can I? He already despises the Dark warriors enough." he whispered to himself.

"I can help you with that." Aqua said, stepping into the room, holding a folded note in his hands. "I still will never learn how you know these things before they happen but thanks. Deliver it now so he will know before the tournament starts tomorrow." Yami said and he nodded as he left out the room.

When he was gone, he look to the bowl Anzu brought and snarled, sending it away with a flick of his wrist. _'She will pay if she dares try to harm him during the tournament.' _he thought as he went back to meditating.

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When Aqua got to the temple, the torches were out which signaled that everyone was asleep. Using the scent he had in memory from the last time they met, he sniffed out the room Yugi was sleeping in. He walked inside silently and looked down to him.

_'Words just can't describe his looks. Hopefully he will accept us one day, not as Dark warriors but as us.'_ he thought as he placed the note down beside him and was about to leave when he heard him stir. He opened his eyes and looked towards him, finally realizing who was in here.

He got up quickly, bringing out the sword made of light that Keara gave him. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "Not to hurt you for one. I came here to only give you the note that's sitting on the table. It will be of importance to believe what it says." Aqua said.

"Why should I? It might be some sort of trick." Aqua only sighed. "Fine, do not believe what it says. It will be disappointing to see you die then." he whispered as he started to head for the door. Yugi, shocked by the information, placed his sword down and called out to him.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" he asked and Aqua stopped, turning back to him. "If you don't heed our warning, you will die. We don't want to see that. Especially at the age you are now along with something much more. We may be Dark warriors but there's something about you that has drawn us to you." he said before leaving out.

"Wait! What do you mean? You must tell me!" he cried as he ran for him and outside but by the time he got out there, Aqua was already up in the air and heading back to the Dark warriors' temple.

"You shall find out soon, that's if you can trust us." he said before he disappeared out of view. He watched him go before sighing. _'I need to know what he means but will I be willing to trust them?'_ he thought as he headed back to his room and picked up the note that was left for him.

_Yugi,_

_You must watch yourself tomorrow. An annoyance on our team named Anzu is planning to kill you since she so obsessed over us that she wishes to do anything that will get us to just acknowledge her. We don't want anything to happen to you even if we are Dark warriors. _

_There's something special about you that means alot to us but we can't tell you about it until we know that you can trust us. Please, heed our warning if you want to live._

_Yami and Aqua_

_'I guess I will have to believe them. If Anzu is on their side then they will know that, they wouldn't be lying to me and make it up.'_ he thought as he sat down on the bed. He looked to the note once more before placing it in the drawer and headed back into bed.

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When the day finally arrived, they all gathered at the transport point. Raiden stood in front of his team of Earth warriors while Sheeva ans Motaro stood in front of the team of Dark warriors. "As you all know, this tournament has been set up by Shao Khan in order to take care of those that wish to deter his chances of coming back. My warriors that have trained to protect this Earth will defeat your legions of darkness." Raiden spoke.

"And we believe that our warriors of darkness will overcome your pathetic warriors and finish them off so Khan can have his rule." Motaro said.

"Then it shall be settled in the arena. Pick the first person that is to fight."

"I'll go. I have a bone to pick with someone that's on their side." Anzu muttered, glaring at them, trying to think of which was Yugi.

Yami growled and was tempted to take his sword out and decapitate her where she stands but refrained from doing so, knowing it will also release his demon side. "I'll go up against her then. She's already sounding like a pain." Keara spoke out, stepping up.

Raiden nodded. "Ok then, your stage shall be the Lower Mines. If need be, I advise you to watch yourself for gruesome deaths can occur there." They both nodded as they walk into the portal that led them there.

"Now you all can head back to your temples since this will be the only one for now." he continued and both teams nodded. Motaro snorted harshly before turning and walked off. The others followed behind them, Marik turning to give Malik a look that said he was ready to battle whenever he was.

Malik glared at him before heading back to the temple as well. Diamond stayed with Raiden and looked to him. "Raiden, I have a question." she said and he looked to her. "You may speak your mind, Diamond."

"I have a hunch but do you know what the outcome of this whole tournament will be?" she asked. "Yes I do and I can assure you that no one of importance will die, only those that aren't worthy of life because of their actions." Raiden answered. She nodded and thanked him before leaving, wanting to take a walk before the match was over.

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When they arrived at the Lower Mines, Anzu glared at Keara. "I hope your ready to lose cause I have something to do that I wish to finish before this tournament is over." Anzu hissed. "Pfft, I like to see you try and win. Whatever you need to do will just have to wait." Keara mumbled, looking around the stage to spot what she needed to watch out for just in case Anzu got lucky with her attacks. Right now, all she could spot was the mechanical dragon head that sat behind Anzu, the jaws clamping down every second and she could see the danger in that.

"Whenever you're ready. Let's just see you try and hit me."

"My pleasure." she growled and charged in, bringing out her Fairy Wand.

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As Diamond was walking through the forest, she didn't noticed she was being followed by Crimson who just spotted her as she walked through. _'Such beauty. Maybe I should've went with Bakura all those time he went for the kid.'_ Crimson thought as he continued to follow her silently.

She looked up when she heard a shout and looked around to see who it was. "Get away from me, Chazz! I told you to leave me alone!" A boy cried as he came from a portion of the forest but tripped over a root and fell.

She gasped and ran over to him, helping him up. "What's going on?" she asked. "A boy named Chazz is chasing me. I don't know why but he won't leave me alone and I can't find a place to hide cause he's in his wolfhound form." The boy replied softly. _'Wolfhound form? That must mean he has some hidden power in him that he released.' _Diamond thought.

"I'll help you out. What's your name anyway?"

"Syrus Truesdale. What's yours?" he replied, adjusting his glasses slightly. "I'm Diamond. Diamond Rose. We should get out of here now before Chazz finds out you're here." she spoke as she shifted into her cobra form and told him to climb on.

Crimson growled from his hiding spot, seeing his chances of meeting Diamond is tarnished for the moment. _'We'll meet soon enough, princess, just wait.'_ he thought before running off before he could be found. /Ready to go?/ she asked and he nodded.

She nodded as well before slithering off just as a large black wolfhound came. He sniffed the ground and growled. _'He won't get away that easily.'_ he thought as he followed their scent.

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/You will love it back at the temple. We're currently in a tournament that may mean the destruction or rescue of the planet itself./ she explained as she continued on her way. "Really? How is that possible?" Syrus asked.

/A warlord named Shao Khan is trying to get himself released from the dimensional gate that he's trapped in. He has assembled a team of warriors to join his side in order to take of the Earth warriors which is me and my friends along with those that has been in tournaments like these before. We just started the tournament today and the results of this will be the result of whether Shao Khan is freed or not./ Diamond said.

He nodded and they soon reached the temple. Syrus climbed off her back and she shifted back into her regular form. "Come on, let's see if we can find Raiden anywhere. He will know what to do." Syrus nodded once more as he followed her into the temple.

They found Sonya and Diamond introduced Syrus to her before asking if she knew where Raiden was. "He's in the sitting room using his powers to give a visual of the battle to the others." Sonya said. She thanked her and led Syrus into the sitting room.

Jou, Malik, Kaiser and Topaz were at the edge of their seats as they watched the battle with Keara and Anzu. "Man! You need to watch this, Diamond! Keara is going to win this since she just won the first round while you were gone!" Jou exclaimed.

"I will in a moment. Raiden, I need to speak with you again if you don't mind." Diamond said.

"I don't mind at all. What is it you need?"

"When I was out earlier, I found Syrus here running from someone named Chazz through the forest separating temples. I brought him here to see if you can help him out." Diamond explained.

He looked to Syrus who hid behind her slightly and he nodded. "Yes, I can. He has a hidden power in him that was never released and I can do that for him if he wished."

Syrus gave a few blinks in slight confusion. "What do you mean by hidden power?" he asked. Diamond turned back to him.

"He means like powers such as ours so we can fight in the tournament. If you let him, he will release your fatality, animality, strength, weapon of choice and the odd one which is babality which I still don't know why we have that." she explained and he nodded. "Ok, that's sounds alright if it means it will help me in someway." Syrus agreed.

"It will when the time is right, now stand before me and I shall grant you your powers." Raiden said and he stepped away from behind Diamond, walking up to stand in front of him. He brought his staff out and with a bout of lightning, Syrus was granted his powers.

"There, you have your powers now. I wish of you to let Diamond train you in your powers so when you are ready, you can join into the tournament as well. For now, the best thing to do is watch this battle so you know what you need to be wary of during this tournament." Raiden said and he nodded as he went to sit next to Diamond.

They all watched with anticipation as the second round of the battle between Keara and Anzu commenced.

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Zypher: And that will be all for this chapter. The second half of the battle will be done completely in the next chapter so leave a review if you want it. Also I will be listing off the stages they play on, complete with stage fatalities is there is some on there or not.

Lower Mines

3 Stage fatalities

1. Located near starting point. It's the mechanical dragon head and if the opponent is hit into it, half of their body will hang out and when it clamps down, it will cut them in half.

2. If one of the opponents are knocked down into the lower level through the wooden fence which has the remaining two, one is a giant steel rock crusher. When the opponent in knocked into it, they will be pulled in and crushed as it continues to roll.

3. The last is a fire pit which is on the other side of the lower field. If knocked into it, they will immediately be incinerated by the lava.

Note: And before you ask, this is the only story that Anzu doesn't know of Yugi and the others. She just as clueless as she needs to be and she will continue to search blindly for Yugi until she sees someone talking with him.


	7. A Battle of Killing Proportions

Zypher: Hello, hello and I'm happy for all the reviews I received for the last chapter. Thank you all so here's chapter 6 for you reading pleasure. Also, I want to ask all of your wonderful readers if you would like me to put Keith in this story. I have came up with some future battle ideas and written them down and I have a good one that involves Keith. I won't be telling who will be battling him but I assure you it will make a relationship grow after it. I want you to tell me in your reviews if you like him to be in the story as well. I'm also thinking about the Paradox Brothers too but I'm still contemplating on that one.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 6

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Anzu growled as she struggled to get up after the finishing blow Keara gave her which knocked her through the wooden fence and to the lower floor. She was glad she was able to stop or else she could've rolled her way to her death by the giant rock crusher right behind her. She wasn't planning on dying just yet.

She wanted to take care of Yugi and she wanted to do it as soon as possible. Keara jumped down to that floor as well and glanced towards her, mocking her state clearly in her eyes. "Had enough yet? You need to give up while you're still alive cause one strong hit from me and you'll be nothing but bloody chunks on the floor." Keara spoke.

"I will not die until I complete what I need to do." Anzu hissed as she sent a ball of magic towards her but she knocked it away with her own magic and sent another blast towards her. She gasped and knowing how close she was to the rock crusher that could end her life, she let her butterfly wings sprout from her back and flew up just in time to avoid the blast.

"You will pay for that." she hissed and she sent another magic ball at her. Keara sprouted her own wings and flew up to avoid her blast and used a different set of magic to chain her while she was in mid air.

She gasped and tried to struggle in the chains' grip but nothing worked and she couldn't use her magic to get free. Keara glided over to her and smirked.

"Trapped like a butterfly in a net. So sorry but as much as I would love to kill you either by the rock crusher beneath you or by the fire pit on the other side, I think someone else has a more fitting death for you later on in this tournament but I won't mind beating you down though." she said as she used her magic to summon a staff and with ease, started mercilessly beating down on her until she could really do anything else and she let the chains disperse, causing her to fall and she just missed by a hair from being caught in the rotating rock crusher's prongs.

Keara landed and soon, a portal appeared and Motaro walked in, grabbing Anzu's unconscious form and looked to her for a second before leaving. Keara only snorted at him before leaving out as well.

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When she got back to the temple, everyone came to congratulate her on a great battle. "Man, Keara! You beat the stuffing out of her! You did great!" Jou commented.

"Thanks, Jou. She wasn't as she was cracked up to be. I should've killed her but something inside me tells me that she will be taken care of later on in the tournament by someone else that hates her just as much as I do."

"Really? Are you sure about that?" Yugi asked.

"I'm sure of it and you may just find out soon who it is later." Keara murmured before they quieted when Raiden came in.

He walked over to her and smiled lightly. "A job well done, Keara. I am quite sure you will win many battles in the future." Raiden spoke. "I know I will. No one can stand up to my magic and live. I only let her because something will come to kill her later in the tournament and I know I'm never wrong." she said and he nodded.

"Well, as I said before, job well done in this round." he congratulated before looking to the others. "The next match has been decided already since they were persistent on continuing on with another match. Malik, you're going up against Dartz. It will start after Sheeva and I make an agreement on a stage." Raiden said and he nodded. "I'm all ready for it." Malik said and he nodded.

"Ok then. Once we choose the stage, I'll call you down so you can start the battle." Raiden said and he nodded and watched as he left. "Let's just hope that battle won't be interrupted by Marik." Diamond murmured.

"Why not? I have enough of a fight to pick with him as it is for all those time he and his sphinx kept coming here to mess with us before the tournament. I can handle both him and Dartz." Malik said. "I'm not sure about that. We all know that you know Marik is tough at some point so if he does somehow come to the battle, keep yourself on guard." Leon quipped.

"Yeah, you're right." he said. "Well, I better get prepared before Raiden comes back." Malik said as he left the room. Diamond looked over to Syrus. "Hey, Syrus, why don't you and me go out back and train a bit just in case a battle for you comes up." Diamond suggested. He nodded and got up from his seat to follow Diamond.

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In the Dark warriors' temple, Marik heard the battle arrangement and knew he best do something to ensure that Malik is to not be killed in battle. He stopped Dartz in the corridor just as he was going to prepare himself for the battle.

"What do you want, Marik?" he questioned. "What I want is for you to make sure that Malik is not harmed too much in this battle. If he is, I will make sure the shadows devours you and torture you in eternal torment." Marik threatened.

"But why should _you_ care? He's on the other team and Shao Khan advise us to finish them off as quickly as possible before aiming our full power against Raiden." Dartz said but Marik gripped him by his throat and lifted him clear off the ground.

"Why? Because I have something else in store for him and it would be wasted if he's dead. Now I advise you to make sure he is only wounded and not killed or else you will be and my shadow parasite will make sure that you do as I said." Marik hissed as shadows gathered around his arm that was holding Dartz up and they slipped inside of him, forming into a ball of small spikes inside his very heart.

"Remember, if you don't do as I said, you will be punctured from the inside out and it should result in a quick, painful death for you." Marik hissed as he let him down non-too-gently and left him in the corridor.

Dartz watched as he left, fear gripping him as he stood up and left once more, hoping that the parasite wouldn't kill him even if he did as Marik said.

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In the back of the temple, Diamond and Syrus were practicing with their weapons. Diamond saw he was doing pretty well with his new Crusader Sword and Dagger. "Great job, Syrus. You're just about ready to make me think you have practiced with these weapons before." Diamond said.

"No, not really. I think it's from the knowledge that Raiden gave me after unlocking my hidden powers." Syrus said with a light blush from the praise. They continued to train until they heard a rustle in the bushes.

Syrus stopped and looked to it and Diamond growled, shifting into her cobra form. /Stay here, Syrus. I'm going to see what it is./ she told him and he nodded as she started to move closer to the bush. Another rustle was heard as she came closer and before she could react, a form pounced out but she moved out of the way quickly to avoid whoever it was.

/Who are you and what do you want?/ she demanded. /I want my meal back, that's what./ The figure growled, looking to her. /You...you're that Chazz kid that was chasing Syrus the day before. Well I won't let you have him./ She hissed, slithering over to him. He growled and lunged for her but she grabbed him and swerved out of the way to avoid being bitten.

/Syrus, hurry and run back inside. I'll take care of this lowly wolfhound./ she said and he nodded as he slid off her back and ran off. Chazz tried to go after him but she hissed in warning and slapped him back with her tail. /You'll have to get past me in order to get to him and I'm not easy person to fight./

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Once the stage was chosen, Dartz and Malik headed for the portal. "I will win this battle." Malik said. "Only if you can survive." Dartz said, still worrying about the parasite that lied within his heart. They were transported to the Falling Cliffs and when the signal was given to fight, Malik brought out his Ahlspiess while Dartz brought out his Serpent Wizard Spear.

Malik charged in first, raising his Ahlspiess to slash at Dartz but he jumped away just in time and returned the attack with one of his own but Malik blocked it in time.

The battle raged on, both never noticing the field shortening as each moment past until Malik's foot slipped as he was nearing the edge. He heard a rumble and jumped away quickly as the outer edge of the cliff fell. _'Better watch that.'_ he thought as he turned back to Dartz who was now weaving a spell and shot it at him.

He ducked and charged towards him, slashing a deep gash through his chest. Dartz hissed in pain as he covered the wound and Malik then hit him hard in the side with the blunt end of his weapon, causing him to fall and since he couldn't get up from both the pain in his side and the pain in his chest fast enough, the first round went to Malik.

"See, I told you, you can't win." Malik said. Dartz snarled as he moved to stand up. _'You're lucky brat. I could kill you in an instant but since this parasite's in me, I'll have to do it the long way and fight you until you're unconscious.'_ Dartz thought as he got ready for the next round.

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With the battle between Chazz and Diamond, she was easily winning with her quick movements. After hitting him good in his side, he growled and ran off, vowing to come back for him soon. She hissed once more before shifting back, glad she didn't take too much damage from him so she wouldn't worry the others.

She headed back inside to see about the battle with Malik and Dartz and saw he was doing pretty well. "It's kinda shocking to not see Marik intervening. I thought he would've at some point." Diamond spoke.

"Yeah but he hasn't showed up at all or at least made a hint that he was there. But it seems Dartz was hesitant with some of his attacks, like he was trying to avoid hurting Malik more than mere scratches and light cuts. How could he win a battle like that?" Jou questioned. "I don't know but I have a feeling Dartz has a plan. Or at least trying to attempt one." Topaz responded. They nodded in agreement to that and continued to watch the outcome of the battle.

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In the forest, Anzu was making her way towards the Earth warriors' temple, determined to figure out who Yugi is so she could deal with him early. But what she didn't know was that both Yami and Aqua knew she was gone even with how hard she tried just to get past Sheeva and Motaro without being noticed.

"That girl is really testing my patience. If she does succeed with this stupid plan of hers, I will tear her limb from limb and feed her to my beasts. They haven't had a good meal in a while." he said, the shadows parting to bring out a medium sized dragon coated in black scales that shined faintly in the light. He purred softly as Yami stroked his head.

"Don't worry, you and the others will get your meal soon." he said and the Ancient Dragon (1) nodded. "But if you can, I want you to do me a favor. I need you to watch that wretched girl and make sure she doesn't harm Yugi in any way. I don't need her ruin the chance we may have at getting someone to love, especially in a tournament like this." He nodded once more before flaring out his feathery black wings and flew off to follow Anzu.

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Back at the battle between Malik and Dartz, Malik was definately beating Dartz but he still didn't want to go down. "Just give up already Dartz. You can't even stand much less do some damage to me." Malik said.

Dartz glared at him and without warning, sent a ball of magic at him, causing Malik to tumble back to the edge and he would've fell if he didn't stab his weapon into the ground to balance himself.

Because of that little move, due to the fact if Malik couldn't save himself and fell to his death, the parasite reacted and the spike started to elongate, piercing the skin of his heart slightly and he hissed at the immense pain, going down to his knees.

Malik looked to him and seeing him submitting to whatever pain he was going through, knew this may be the only chance he had at winning this match and quickly dislodged his weapon and attacked Dartz again, knocking him out easily.

_'Well, I'm glad I won but something is not right. Even with all the hits I did to him and he never went down so what could've caused that?'_ he thought before snorting at his limp form and when the portal appeared, he left out and left Sheeva to get him.

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"That stupid idiot. I told him and he didn't listen, for the most part. He was lucky Malik could save himself." Marik hissed. "So what will you do now? This is only one in many chances that Malik could be involved in a near death situation and other times, he may not be as quick to react before falling to his death in a pit of lava, acid or even lasers from what I heard about Quan Chi's Palace." Toben said.

"I know and that's why I need to confront him. Maybe not now but soon before his next battle." Marik said as he stood up and left the room, wanting to get something to eat. Toben watched him before sending the mirror of shadows away before lying back down in his bed, thinking about what to do about the opponent that would be going against Topaz when it was his turn.

_'Something just as deadly as Marik's shadow parasite but what? Maybe another parasite of my own creation that would eat Topaz's opponent from the inside out of they try to kill him.'_ he thought and then grinned menacingly. _'Yes, that may work out perfectly.'_

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Anzu continued to make her way to the temple and when she was there, she snuck inside and hid behind a corner, seeing everyone gathered in the room, praising Malik's victory. "You did great, Malik. For a sec, I almost though you would've fell off the cliff the way it kept falling."

"Hey, it wasn't called Falling Cliffs for nothing. I'm glad I was able to catch myself before that did happen." Malik responded.

"Well, I hope all your battles go just as well." Yugi spoke. He smiled and ruffled his hair a bit. "Thanks, Yugi." he said and Anzu smiled at her luck. _'So, he's Yugi. He looks so weak and pathetic. I should be able to take care of him easily in his sleep.'_ she thought before leaving to hide somewhere else until night fell.

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After dinner and everyone headed to bed, she followed Yugi up to his room and waited until he was asleep. When he was, she snuck inside and pulled out her wand, forming it into a dagger and hovered over his sleeping form.

_'Yami and Aqua will praise me for this and I'll win their hearts in no time.'_ Anzu thought and was about to stab the dagger into his heart if the Ancient Dragon didn't came from the shadows and tackled her down.

He growled in warning and she glared up at him. "Get off of me. I have a job to do!" she said. He snarled and formed a mirror of shadows and Yami appeared in it. "I told you, Anzu, it was none of your business but of course, you don't listen. You're lucky that I haven't sent him to kill you. I think he would've enjoyed it."

"But, Yugi was making you stressed and maybe even angry. I had to do something about it. Don't you know I care for you and Aqua?" she asked. He only snarled. "Like we would care. There's only one person we are worrying about as of now but we won't be telling you anytime soon. I suggest you forget any chances of being with us cause it won't happen." Yami spoke before nodding to the dragon. He nodded as well and after dispersing the mirror before Anzu could protest, he used his claw to knock Anzu out and transported her back to the temple.

He looked over to Yugi and walked over to his bed calmly. He smiled down at the innocent facade of his sleeping form and gently licked him, hoping the best for both Yami and Aqua at winning his little heart.

_'I hope that you will agree to be with them. Someone like you shouldn't really be in a tournament like this but I know you will survive, especially if you have Yami and Aqua by your side. I know they will definitely do anything to ensure your safety.'_ The dragon thought before disappearing back into the shadows and flew off once he was outside.

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When he got back, Yami stroked his head once more before sending him back to his small home inside the shadows with the other ancient dragons. "Hopefully, everything will turn out well, for everyone here." Yami whispered and Aqua nodded.

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Zypher: And there you go, chapter 6. Hoped you had enjoyed reading this. Remember, tell me if you wish for me to add Keith and maybe the Paradox Brothers into the story as well. See you all next chapter.

(1) - These Ancient dragons happen to be the ones from The Slayers Try anime. It's been a while that I watched them and then I remembered Valgaav and his Ancient dragon half-form so I thought 'Why not. Gives me a change of pace with some new ideas.' So, they're they are and I don't own them or The Slayers Try anime.

Stages:

Falling Cliffs

Stage Fatality

Like in the story, the outer edge of the cliffs falls after a few moments and if you happen to be standing on it, you will tumble and fall to your death on the stalagmites or sharp upward rock formations at the bottom. You can also be punched or kicked off if you're too close to the edge as well.

Quan Chi's Palace (Don't know if it's been counted as a stage fatality in the game but for this story, it will)

Stage Fatality

Underneath the large platform you fight on, there are a series of lasers that hover over a giant pool of blood. If an opponent is knocked off, you will be sliced into pieces by the lasers and added with the other countless lives that could've been lost by the same fate.


	8. Never Underestimater My Power

Zypher: Hello all and welcome to my newest chapter. I'm so happy of all the reviews you have given me so I hope you will enjoy this chapter as well. Also, due to popular demand, I'm adding Keith into the story as well but he won't show up until later. So here's his info:

Keith

Fatality: Summons a machine-based monster (either Barrel Dragon or Slot Machine, depends on how much strength he has left after the battle)  
Babality: Baby with blond tuff of hair and narrow blue eyes  
Animality: Large Crocodile (Moves over to dazed opponent and eats them from the legs up)  
Friendship: None

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 7

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The next day, the Earth warriors went downstairs to eat breakfast and to also know of the next battle. Raiden came in while they were still eating and they stopped to listen to what he has to say. "Everyone, the next battle had been decided. Diamond, you're up against Vivian at the Beetle Lair. If you are ready, you can proceed to the stage." Raiden said and she nodded.

"I'm ready as I'll ever be."

"Alright then, follow me." he spoke as he left out the room. "Good luck, Diamond." Syrus called. "Don't worry, I won't be beaten easily." she replied before she left out the room as well to follow Raiden.

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Sheeva came back into the room where the others were waiting. "Vivian, you're up. Motaro will take you to the stage." Sheeva said and she nodded. "Wish me luck, guys." Vivian said. Only some nodded while other were thinking of something else.

She pouted lightly before leaving to meet with Motaro. "I'm going to train for a bit. Tell me who wins, Crimson." Bakura said as he stood up and left the room. He nodded and brought up the shadow portal that will show them the battle. When Crimson saw who was in the Beetle Lair stage, he smirked.

_'So, my little princess is fighting, let's just see how strong she is then.'_ he thought as the battle commenced with Vivian appeared on the stage as well.

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"So, I have to go against some Chinese expert fighter? Please, this shouldn't be too hard." Diamond taunted and Vivian only snorted. "Oh really? Only someone who doesn't know what she's going up against would say so." Vivian said as she got into formation.

Diamond brought out her bow and arrows and cocked one in, waiting for the signal for the battle to start. When they were given the signal, Vivian charged in, just barely dodging the arrow shot towards her.

"You'll have to do better than that in order to get me." Vivian spoke, ready to punch her but yelped when the arrow pierced her leg. "Yeah, that's if you don't think my arrows won't follow its target." Diamond said with a smirk and got another arrow ready to shoot. Noticing this, she tried to think of a way to avoid the arrows.

She saw the bare wall with the two pots of fire next to some etchings of skeletal warriors and getting an idea, she charged in again, moving fast enough so Diamond couldn't avoid it or make the shot and punched her towards the wall, making her crash through it easily, and they came into the true area of the Beetle Lair.

Diamond sat up and looked down to all the beetles crawling around and the few she hit on the way down. "Feel sorry for the beetles right now." she said to herself as she watched Vivian jumped down as well. She jumped back up with ease and then spotted the weapon next to her.

_'That will work.'_ she thought as she reached over and grabbed the weapon before looking back to Vivian. "Let's just see you handle this." Diamond said, giving the weapon a test swing before charging towards her.

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"Whoa, how did that get there?" Yugi wondered.

"Some stages that you go into has a specific weapon for it. The Beetle Lair contains a weapon called the Thoraxe. It's like a javelin only that it has the spider symbol of the Beetle Lair as the tip and the six legs jutting out are the blades. It tends to be heavy but a well built person or a person who can use heavy weapons can wield it pretty well and without fail. It will also keep them from slowing down because of the weapon's weight." Raiden replied.

"If that's true then Diamond might be slowed down by it. I never saw her train with a heavy weapon before." Ryou pointed out. "That can be true but you'll never know the hidden strength within one person." Raiden spoke and he nodded, knowing he may be right about that.

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Jou, at the moment, was walking through the forest, having a good idea of who may win today's battle. _'Diamond is good at fighting next to Keara. I wouldn't put it past her to not win this battle.'_ Jou thought, unaware of the two people watching him. _'Great, Jou's alone and no Mai to ruin this meeting.'_ Seto thought as he walked out to meet with him.

_'No Seto in sight yet. Better hurry before his scaly butt shows.'_ Mai thought as she ran over to Jou. "Hey, Jou!" Mai called but saw Seto was already there talking with him and she growled. She marched over to him and pushed him away.

"Seto, what are you doing here? I told you to leave him alone." Mai hissed. "And what makes you think I'll listen to you? A conniving witch such as yourself doesn't deserve someone like him." Seto retorted, making Jou blush. "And what makes you so worthy?" Mai questioned haughtily.

"Please, there's no need to fight over me. I mean, I am surprised the both of you are interested in me of all people but you shouldn't fight among each other just to get my attention." Jou murmured. "Jou, when it comes to us, there is a reason to fight, to make sure there's no intrusions when it come to getting something we both would like but isn't planning to share." Seto responded, glaring at her which she returned fiercely.

Jou watched them both and knew he was the root of the problem. _'Maybe I should back off. They're obviously fighting over me and will continue to do so unless I'm not around.'_ Jou thought and moved away before heading back towards the temple, not catching their attention since they were still arguing.

They finally realized Jou was gone and growled at one another. "Now look what you did? _You_ scared him off." Mai hissed. "_I_ scared him off? Your screeching voice might've made him run. That's why I should kill you here and now." Seto growled as he brought out his claws. Mai did the same and they soon started fighting with one another.

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The battled raged on after Diamond won the first round of the battle with ease, Vivian getting many wounds from the Thoraxe weapon she had and Diamond having a few bruises from where Vivian was able to get a hit in before she could block.

The beetles continued to scurry around the floor, trying to avoid them but some started to fly around, Diamond communicating with them easily so they would distract Vivian. She commanded the beetles to stop their distraction and she sealed Vivian in her tracks with a spell.

"This had gone on long enough. I want to end this and get back to my temple so let's make this quick." Diamond muttered and knocked her over the head with the blunt side of the Thoraxe, freeing her from the spell afterwards and watched as she fell to the ground, unconscious.

"I should've killed her cause I have a suspicious feeling she will be up to something else involving the others later on." she said to herself, placing the weapon back where it once stood. Motaro walked in and picked her up before leaving. She left out as well and headed back to the temple, unaware of who was following behind her.

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As he continued on his way back to the temple, he felt that he should do something to stop Seto and Mai from fighting. _'And running away isn't going to help the situation. I'm the start of this problem and I need to stop it.'_ Jou thought and he turned and ran back towards where he last left them.

He found them clawing and slashing at each other, shouting profanities as the battle continued on. "Please! Both of you stop fighting!" Jou shouted and they stopped quickly. Seto pushed Mai away and walked over to him. "Is something wrong, Jou?" he asked.

"Yes, I know you both care for me and like I said before, I'm flattered by it all but you need to stop fighting each other cause it won't win my affections. If you want to show you really care for me then you'll have to do it your own way but don't result in fighting."

"Don't worry. I'm sure I'll be the one to win your heart, Jou." Mai gushed and Seto growled. "We'll see about that one. Jou, I'm the one for you and if I do have to battle her just to prove it then I will." Seto said. He only nodded and watched as they left once more.

_'Hopefully they will refrain from fighting each other now unless it's necessary which hopefully won't be happening soon.'_ Jou thought as he started to make his way back towards the temple.

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She continued to walk on, having a feeling that someone was following her but every time she stopped, Crimson does the same. _'Someone is here, I know they're around.'_ she thought before turning completely. "Alright, who's here? I demand you show yourself!" She demanded. He snickered lightly but nonetheless came from his spot.

"How good of you to notice my presence, little princess." Crimson whispered. She growled. "What do you want, Dark warrior?" she questioned with a hint of anger in her tone. "Oh nothing, just want to congratulate you on your win and hopefully you will be ready for when we battle in the fray." Crimson said.

"Of course I will. What makes you think I won't be?" she questioned again. "Nothing at all, only because if you lose to me, I will take you as my own and you may never see your friends or the other Earth warriors again."

She growled and brought out her bow and arrows, shooting one towards him but he disappeared in a flash. She looked around for him but he was behind her. Before she could react, he grabbed her, pinning her arms to her sides. He placed his mouth close to her ear and whispered sweetly in her ear as she tried to get away.

"No matter what, princess, you will be mine before this tournament is over. Whether you're willing or not." Crimson purred before jumping away and disappeared once more before she could react. She growled and placed her bow and arrows back to where they belong.

"The nerve of him. He won't have me until I'm murdered in cold blood." she whispered to herself as she continued on her way back to the temple.

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Yugi was outside training by himself, unaware that the Ancient dragon that saved his life the night before from Anzu was watching him. He was given a command to now watch over Yugi until they had the chance to come to the Earth warriors' temple and hopefully commune with him that they weren't at all evil.

He now sat upon a tree branch, watching him as he trained. _'Hopefully he won't get himself killed in this tournament and I will have to make sure nothing of the sort happen to do just that.'_ he thought before he heard and crack and before he could move, the branch he was sitting on broke and he plummeted to the ground.

He groaned lightly, eyes closed. _'Well, that could've went better.'_ he thought to himself. Yugi heard him fall and turned to where he was before running over to him. "Oh my, are you alright? That must've been a pretty nasty fall." Yugi said as he helped him up.

He nodded his head to show he was alright but winced when he tried to move his left wing. "Your wing must be sprained. Come, I'll see if we can get that fixed up." Yugi said as he helped the Ancient dragon back into the temple. Once his wing was properly bandaged, he was left on Yugi's bed while he went to get him something to eat.

While he was gone, he brought up a portal and contacted with Yami or Aqua. Aqua's face appeared in the shadows. "Cynec, is everything alright?" he asked. /Yes but I happened to have fell out a tree and injured my wing but Yugi was grateful enough to take care of me so I'll be staying here longer./ Cynec said. "You're not really graceful are you?" Aqua taunted and he snorted.

/Shut it. Anyways, I'll be keeping a more closer eye on Yugi from here. Will that be alright?/ he asked. "Yes, that will be fine with us. If you can, tell him as much as you can about our good points so when we do come, he doesn't have to worry about us trying to murder him or something like that just because we're part of the Dark warriors." Aqua said and Cynec nodded.

He heard the doorknob turn and said a quick goodbye to Aqua before dissipating the shadows. Yugi walked in with a bowl and set it in front of him. Here, I was able to snag some beef from the kitchen." Yugi spoke and he nodded to show his thanks before he started to eat.

"I wonder where you came from. Maybe I'll find out one day." he continued as he stroked Cynec's head, gaining a rumbling purr from him. He stopped petting him and started making his way to the door. "Well, you get some rest and I'll bring dinner to you later." Yugi said and he nodded, watching as he walked out the room.

He finished his beef and smiled lightly to himself. _'Yami and Aqua did choose a nice person. I will make sure everything goes well for them both and make sure Anzu is nowhere near them to try and ruin a bond that will be smiled upon by demon and dragon kind.'_ Cynec thought as he relaxed and soon fell asleep.

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Zypher: And that's all. Hoped you enjoyed it and will leave a nice review. See you all in the next chapter.


	9. Dreaded Battles

Zypher: Hi all and welcome to the next chapter to Challenge of the Kombat. I thank you all for your reviews so I hope you'll like this chapter. Also, if you're a Chazz fan, don't read for he will getting his butt kicked in this chapter.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 8

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Later that night, a shadow zipped through the temple, glancing around corners before continuing on his way. It was none other than Chazz and he was still trying to find any sign of Syrus. He caught onto his scent and with a grin, he started making his way towards his room.

Inside his own, Yugi was asleep on Cynec's side but woke up when he heard the padding of feet outside his door. He quietly got up so he wouldn't wake him up and went over to the door, opening it quietly and looked outside. He saw a form walking through the halls and seeing as it was no one he knew of, he left out his room to confront him.

"Hey you! What are you doing here?" he questioned. Chazz turned to him and snarled. /Back off, kid. It's none of your business./ he said. "It is if you're planning to hurt one of my friends then it is my business. Now what do you want here?" Yugi questioned once again.

/If you want to know so much then you'll have to fight me for I will not tell you so easily./ Chazz growled as he prepared for the battle. Yugi nodded and brought out his sword and charged towards him, ready to slash at him but he jumped up into the air at the last minute and he head-butted him in the chest. He stumbled back a bit but straighten up and charged towards him once more.

/You will never beat me like this, kid. It's a miracle how you plan to survive in the tournament./ Chazz murmured as he jumped once more, dodging Yugi's attack and head-butted him on his head, causing him to wince as he fell back, losing his grip on his sword.

He tried to go after his sword but Chazz bit down onto his shoulder and dragged him back. "Let go of me!" he hissed as he tried to struggle out of his grip. He let go but the wound was deep and he was starting to lose a lot of blood, making him lose consciousness. /Hopefully that will teach you to butt out of people's business. Now I have something to do./ Chazz spoke before leaving him where he was.

Cynec heard them fighting and ran out just in time to see Yugi fall to the ground because of the fast lost of blood. /Yugi./ he whispered and ran over to him, gently placing a claw over the wound in his shoulder and healed the wound with his shadows. Once the wound was sealed, he picked him up and brought him back to his room.

/Who could've done this? Yami and Aqua may want to know this./ he said to himself as he brought up a shadow mirror to contact them. Yami showed up, yawning lightly. "Cynec, it's late. What is it?" Yami asked.

/We have a situation here and Yugi got hurt in the process. I don't know who it was but he's somewhere in the Earth warriors' temple after defeating him in a battle./ Cynec explained and that woke Yami up.

"What! Someone dared hurt him! I will kill whoever it was! I'll be there soon. Keep watch over Yugi." Yami said as the image disappeared. /My, whoever it was that beat Yugi in that battle will get ripped to shreds when he gets here./ Cynec murmured before lying down next to him and made sure not to jar his wing in the process.

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Yami beat his wings quickly as he made his way towards the Earth warriors' temple. He was pissed that someone would dare hurt Yugi. Luckily enough he knew it wasn't Anzu cause she still hasn't woken up from the blow that she was given from Cynec from her last attempt.

_'But who else could it be? It isn't anyone I know from my team and I know that his friends wouldn't betray him. So who could it possibly be?'_ he thought as he landed and walked inside. He looked around silently before he heard some rummaging and went in that direction.

He found Chazz scrounging around and growled lowly, catching his attention. /What do you want?/ he questioned.

"I want to battle you. You have done something that has angered me and I won't let it go unpunished. So you and me will battle, tonight at midnight, at the Dark Prison stage. You better be at the portal or I will hunt you down like the wolfhound you are." Yami hissed before leaving.

Chazz growled. _'Looks like my meal will have to wait just a while longer.'_ he thought as he made his way towards the portal seeing as it was only a few minutes til midnight and he didn't want to be hunted down like some common dog.

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Yami looked up when he heard footsteps and glared as Chazz appeared, now in his human form for once. "Come on, then. I don't have all night." Chazz snarled and Yami only snorted gruffly as he set up the portal to the Dark Prison stage and headed in.

Once they were there, they ended up in the showers area which was raining blood down on them. "Prepare yourself cause when I defeat you, you wouldn't dare try to go towards the Earth warriors' temple again without invoking my wrath." Yami growled.

"I just like to see you try and stop me." Chazz shot back as he pulled out a Buster Sword from the air. Yami only snorted again and brought out a sword made from the darkest of shadows. The battle begun in a flash and with slices and slashes, they fought with the clear intention to get rid of the other.

Their swords clashed and without warning, Yami let his tail show and he knocked Chazz down into the prison courtyard where series of prisoners were held. In one of the corners was and indentation containing two spiked walls and both of them knew it meant death if they fell into the area.

Yami jumped down into the courtyard as well, his landing soft as he brought out his wings and the battle raged on. Chazz knew he was losing against the other and knew there may only be one way how to defeat him. When their swords clashed once more, they jumped back, Chazz strategically putting himself into front of the death trap.

"You are a worthy opponent but you are a nuisance. You have ruined my only chance at getting my meal from those pathetic fighters of the earth." Chazz said. Yami growled. "They are not pathetic. They have shown their worth to some of us but not all and I will not let you ruin the chances of them having a challenge in this tournament of life and death." Yami stated.

"Fine then, show me that you are a worthy challenge to me." Chazz spoke. Yami's eyes narrowed and with a glint off his sword did he charge towards him. Chazz stood perfectly still, waiting for the right time.

When he got close enough, Chazz jumped into the air and kicked Yami square in his back, right between his wings and he flew into the area where the spiked walls were. He growled as he stood and then heard the walls sliding close. He didn't have enough time to make his way out but he wasn't going to be killed that easily.

His eyes flashed as his demon strength fueled into him and he placed his hands in between the spikes. Chazz only laughed. "You really think you can save yourself. You will die." he said but his eyes widened as he saw Yami was pushing the walls back, leaving him enough room to flare his wings out and got out of the death trap.

Yami glared at him as the walls slammed shut behind him. "You were saying?" he whispered as he brought out his sword which dissipated when he was pushing the walls back.

Chazz backed away, feeling the immense energy of his demon side and most of the prisoners shied away, also feeling the energy rippling through the air like a thick blanket. "Nice attempt to try and kill me. Now let me show you how easy it is to kill, especially prey." Yami hissed as he ran towards him but to Chazz, it was nothing but a blur.

He tried desperately to defend himself but Yami was quick and all you could see was the appearing wounds that seemed to be coming out of nowhere and landed on his flesh. Yami stood in front of him as Chazz fell to the ground.

"If I ever catch you near the temple of the Earth warriors, your death will be quick yet painful." Yami hissed before he opened a portal back to the Earth warriors' temple and made another one appear under Chazz to throw him somewhere else before leaving.

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Cynec looked up when he saw Yami come in, covered in blood from when he and Chazz were fighting in the shower area. /What happened?/ Cynec questioned. "The battle was a quick one to me. He put up a fight but not one to satisfy me." Yami murmured as he looked over to where Yugi lied, asleep still. He walked over silently and gently ran a hand through his hair.

Cynec got up and pulled a chair over to him and he thanked him as he sat down. "Did you heal him?"

/Yes but my shadow magic isn't strong compared to yours and Aqua's so the wound is still fresh./ Cynec replied. He nodded and placed a hand over the wrapped wound and the shadows healed the wound even more until it was barely noticeable. "There, that should take care of that. Hopefully nothing fatal will happen to him. That was a close enough call as it is."

/Don't worry, I will be by his side no matter what. I will not let anything happen to him again./ Cynec spoke.

"Thank you, Cynec."

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As the sun started to rise, Yami left, any traces of blood left from his clothing fading away and Cynec went to lay back down next to Yugi. When Yugi woke up later on, he placed a hand on his shoulder and found it was bandaged and wasn't hurting him as it did last night.

_'I wonder what happened? I remembered the battle with that wolfhound and he defeated me easily. I didn't call out to anyone neither was the battle loud enough to wake anyone so who could've helped me?'_ he thought and then looked to Cynec. _'Maybe he heard me in trouble and came to help.'_ he thought once more as he climbed out of the bed.

He got dressed and bidding goodbye to the sleeping Cynec, he left out to eat breakfast and see who was battling next. Jou looked to him and smiled.

"Morning, Yugi."

"Morning, Jou. Did Raiden come by to tell who was up next?" Yugi asked as Diamond gave him a plate of food.

"No, not yet but Jax said he should be on his way." Jou replied and he nodded as he started to eat. Once they were all finished with breakfast, they waited in the sitting area for Raiden. He came in and stood in front of them.

"Today's battle will be with Sonya and Marik at the Sky Temple. That's what we agreed on." Raiden said and Malik stood up. "No, Raiden! I cannot allow this! Let me take her place!" Malik begged. Raiden turned to him.

"I know you have a grudge against Marik but this is the decision and not even I can change it, only if the combatants agree." Raiden spoke. Malik sighed and nodded before looking to Sonya. "Please, Sonya, be careful. The last thing I need to hear is you getting hurt or die out there." Malik whispered.

"Don't worry, Malik. I'll be fine. Besides, I know what he's capable of from that time you battled with him." Sonya said before following Raiden out. "I hope so." Malik whispered before looking to Leon. "Leon, is there anything else we should know about Marik?" Malik asked, fearing for Sonya's safety.

"No, everything I told you that day was all I knew about him and Toben." Leon said. "But there could be a possibility that he has trained more and possibly know other attacks than the ones you saw before." Malik groaned and looked to the door with worry

"That's what I'm afraid of."

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Marik looked up when he heard Sonya arrived and grinned. "So, you finally made it. I was hoping that it would be the boy that I was interested in but oh well. I'll fight him soon enough." Marik said. "That's if I don't defeat and kill you here." Sonya murmured as she got into fighting position. Marik brought out his javelin and when they were given the signal, the battle started.

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They all watched with anticipation as the battle commence. Malik was more worried than anything. He trusts that Sonya may have a chance at winning but he barely trust that Marik would use some tricks in battle that may hurt the female fighter badly.

_'If only I can do something but I can't send Ra there. He may not obey her or interfere with the battle in general.'_ he thought. Topaz placed a hand on his shoulder. "Stop worrying yourself to bits, Malik. I'm sure she'll be able to win against him. She's a good fighter and she's probably went against enemies tougher that Marik before." Topaz assured.

He nodded and went to look back at the screen, just hearing Marik making a win for the first round. _'Please, Sonya, come back unharmed.'_ he thought.

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She coughed a little as she tried to stand after that last blow. She glared up at him and he only grinned. "You should give up while you have the chance because I won't hesitate to kill you." Marik said.

"No, I won't give up. This is just one in many battles that could mean the fate of the world." Sonya whispered as they were given the signal once more and she charged in, trying to land a punch to Marik's jaw but shadows came to block him and he punched her in her stomach, making her slide back towards the wooden fence. She held on to said fence as she looked for Marik who disappeared from her sight.

She gasped when he appeared in front of her and with a hard punch, smashed her through the fence and onto the second level of the temple. He followed her down and let his shadows do most of the works until she was bloody and barely conscious.

She looked up to him once more as she got up and tried to land one more punch on him but a shadow tendril wrapped around her neck and lifted her off the ground and over the edge of the ledge.

"I could let you go here and watch as you fall to your death but I will tend to be nice if you do something for me." Marik spoke. "And what would that be?" Sonya questioned, coughing up blood. "I want you to tell Malik to come to the forest tonight. I have something I wish to speak with him and tell him I will not do anything to hurt him." She nodded as Marik brought her back onto the ledge but threw her towards the wall, ending the match. with him as the winner

The portal opened and Raiden came in, helping Sonya up before taking her back to the temple. Marik left out as well, eagerly waiting for tonight._ 'That is, of course, Malik shows up.'_ he thought.

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After seeing what happened in the battle, Malik swore to himself that he would take care of Marik once and for all. Raiden came in and Jax went to help him, taking Sonya up to her room while Diamond and Keara followed to tend to her wounds. The others followed as well, waiting outside so they wouldn't get in the way.

"I hope she's alright. That was a harsh beating, especially from those shadows." Kaiser said. "Don't worry, I bet she's alright. She's strong and will be up and ready to fight again soon but sooner or later, I will go against Marik myself and kill him." Malik growled.

"Don't set your expectations too high, Malik. Marik's pretty strong and if you're not prepared, you could get yourself killed or worse." Topaz said. "I know but I'll find a way soon." A few minutes later, Diamond, Jax and Keara came out and told them Sonya was ok now and they can go in to talk with her.

They did so and some sat in chairs while others tend to stand. "Are you ok, Sonya?" Yugi asked. "Yeah, I'm ok. That Marik is a tough person to beat but I know one of you guys can beat him." Sonya replied.

"Don't worry, we will. In some way, we will." Malik said. "But don't just focus on him, there are others on that team that could be just as strong as him." Yugi said and they nodded. "He does have a point but let's not worry about that. We should get in some more training before the next battle." Topaz said and they nodded as they filed out of the room. "Malik, stay back for a second." Sonya called and he turned back around. "Yeah?"

"Marik told me to tell you to meet him in the forest tonight. I don't know why but that's what he told me to tell you. I had to agree so I wouldn't get myself killed." Sonya whispered. He sneered. "I would hate to go but he may be up to something and whatever it could be means that I may be able to stop it. Thanks for telling me, Sonya." Malik said before leaving. _'I just hope he's not up to something that could mean Malik's death.'_ she thought before she went to go to sleep.

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Zypher: And that's all for this chapter. Don't worry, the romance between Malik and Marik will come soon. And before you wonder, there is nothing, I repeat, nothing going on between Sonya and Malik. Malik is just worried about any of his friends going against Marik with his tricks and his insane use of shadows as moves. Anyways, hoped you enjoyed this chapter and will review.

Stages:

Dark Prison

Stage Fatality

Like it was stated in the story, when one is knocked into the courtyard, right in the corner is that indentation with the spiked walls. If an opponent is knocked into it, they would try to hold the walls back from crushing them but it would prove futile and they would be crushed, leaving nothing but blood and chunks of flesh when the walls slide back. Of course, I wouldn't do that to Yami so a little demon strength is all he needed to escape that death trap.

Sky Temple

Stage Fatality

When the opponent is knocked onto the second level, there is another wooden fencing but there is no third level or platform underneath. If the opponent knocks into it, they will fall a long ways down until they hit the ground and explode into blood and chunks of flesh and bone.


	10. Admitting Emotions from the Other Side

Zypher: Welcome all to my newest chapter and I'm happy that you all reviewed the last one. Thanks a bunch and I grant you with the next chapter to Challenge of the Kombat. Enjoy everyone.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 9

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After making sure the Sonya was ok for now, they all left out to the training grounds and started training with one another to prepared themselves for the next battle. Raiden watched as they trained with each other alongside Keara. She looked up to the Thunder God. "Raiden, I have a feeling that the newly recruited Dark warriors are up to something. Do you think the same?" she asked.

"Yes and I know exactly of what they want. Each has taken interest in one of our newly gained Earth warriors but they know they can't do much since they are of opposing sides. One to put the world into darkness and the other to save it. They are having conflicting emotions because of this situation and I know that each hopes to have what they wish without problems but they can only do so much. At the most, they are doing what they can to prove themselves that they are not totally evil and wish to be with them even if they are on different sides. You can tell this easily based on the past battles so far." Raiden explained and she thought about it.

She then remembered the battle with Dartz and Malik and how he seemed to be weakened easily when Malik was knocked off the side of the Falling Cliffs. _'If he's right, the many battles that Malik had with Marik before the tournament starts meant something and the only thing I can guess is that Marik has some interest in Malik.'_ she thought, eyes widening in realization.

"You're right, Raiden. I remember that before the tournament even started, there was a reason Marik and Toben kept coming here. Because they were interested in Malik and Topaz, that's why they only battled with them and no one else." she said to him and he nodded.

"But if all that's true, then how are we going to let them get together? Shao Khan would never allow it and those that are still loyal to him will kill them or the ones that are causing their defiance."

"That decision is based all on them. If they want this or not. Their decision can also be the fate of the world as well. You can help them but you can only do so much." Raiden said before leaving her alone to her thoughts.

_'Well, if I can help them then I will. I want them to be happy and if that means that bringing them together with the ones that wish to be with them then so be it.'_ she thought, looking up as Yugi called to her and she joined in with them to train.

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/How is the tournament going so far?/ Shao Khan asked. "So far, we had a few losses but with Marik, he was able to win against Sonya." Sheeva said. /Hmm, this will pose a problem. There hasn't been any changes with our warriors has there?/ he asked. "No but Motaro said that he has seen some of them looking forlorn about something but when he asked, they just dismiss it and leave." she said.

/This could pose a problem. Sheeva, I want you two to start keeping an eye on our new fighters and if they are to leave out somewhere without anyone noticing, follow them and if there's something that interest them and may cause them to defy us, destroy it immediately./ Shao Khan said and she nodded. /Now, go and make arrangements for the next battle. I think Seto will deserve the next battle./ he said and she nodded once more as she bowed and left the Dimensional Gate.

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It was a few hours later after Sheeva left and the Dark warriors gathered up in the sitting room. Yami and Aqua were sitting on a high ledge made of shadows just for the reason to avoid Anzu who was now awake and was trying to convince them, without letting the others know, that Yugi was a bother and shouldn't have to worry about him. Yami thought that she was lucky that everyone was in here or else he would've killed her by now because of her insults to the younger fighter of the earth.

"Does anyone know of the next match yet?" Mai asked.

"No, if we knew, do you think we would be sitting here?" Seto drawled and that earned him a glare from her. "Well, we should past the time by training or something. Those Earth warriors can tend to be a pain and one of us may get killed if we're not prepared. We don't want that now, do we?" Siegfried muttered. "Unlike some of us, we're perfectly fine with the strength we have. You never know if we just have some hidden secrets." Crimson answered with a smirk.

"He does have a point. But anyways, Crimson," Marik called and the sphinx warrior looked to him. "Have you seen Bakura lately? I haven't seen him walking around except for when we eat but then he just leaves when he's done. What's up with that?" he asked. "He's working on something important and he doesn't want anyone interrupting him so I won't bother going to his room or he just may tear you limb from limb." Crimson replied.

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Bakura was sitting in his room like Crimson told all the others, running his fingers through the hair of the soul clone of Ryou that he was able to conjure up. He groaned lightly and the clone looked up to him.

"What's wrong, Master Bakura?" he asked. He looked down to him. "I just can't get my thoughts off the true form that I want." Bakura replied.

"But...don't I please you enough until you get that chance, master?"

"You do, don't get me wrong, but I am starting to become impatient with waiting for that time. I want him now but the last thing I want to do is scare him off and then I lose him for good." he said before growling lightly, letting go of the clone's hair and placed his hand over his face. The clone Ryou frowned and moved up to him, gently kissing his neck.

"I am here to make you feel better, master. That's what you created me for. Just tell me what you want and I'll do it for you." he said. Bakura looked to him and sighed before smirking lightly.

"I know you will, my little clone." he said and brought him down for a kiss. _'At least until I have my true angel with me, you will just have to do but I won't complain about it.'_

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Sheeva soon came back, just around the same time Bakura came out his room and downstairs, and told them what they decided on for the next match. "Alright, we have decided that in the next match, it will be Seto against Ryou." she said. After hearing the next match, Bakura growled and looked over to Seto.

_'Seems we need to have a short talk before that match.'_ he thought as he stood. Seto stood as well and was about to leave but Bakura grabbed onto his arm and led him away. "What are you up to?" Seto questioned coldly.

"I need to speak with you." Was all Bakura said as they entered into a dark hallway. "Alright, now normally I won't care about anyone you go up against but since you're going up against Ryou, I need to set some ground rules." he said.

"And why would you care about some low down warrior of the earth?" Seto questioned and Bakura grabbed his collar, pulling him down. "Because, I like him and he will be mine soon enough but I won't tolerate it if something happens to him where he's severely injured or dead. I know you have been watching that blond haired boy that Mai wants as well and if I go against him, he will see no mercy from me if you hurt or kill Ryou. Got that?" Bakura hissed. Being intimidated enough by his threat to Jou, he nodded.

"Just to make things easier, take a dive and let him win today's match or else." he continued, eyes narrowing. Seto growled but nodded and Bakura let him go. "Good we could settle things easily." he spoke, smirking, before leaving him. Seto snarled at his threat before leaving out to follow Motaro to the stage.

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When Raiden told them of the match-up, it affected Jou pretty badly. _'Seto was on the Dark warriors' side all along? If he was, how come he wasn't at the meeting when we saw the Dark warriors? And to think, I thought that he was nice. I could've trusted him but now I can't and I will make him pay if he hurts Ryou.' _Jou thought. "Don't get hurt out there, Ryou."

"I won't. I've been training enough to, hopefully, stay alive but I may take minor wounds."

"Well, just don't get hurt too much out there. We don't know how powerful that Seto guy really is." Topaz added and he nodded before he followed Raiden out. Yugi looked over to Jou and saw the sad gleam in his eyes.

"Jou, is something wrong?" Yugi asked. He looked up and shook his head. "No, nothing's wrong, Yugi. Don't worry about it." Jou replied with a small smile. Keara saw the look as well and felt that it may have to deal with Seto.

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They met up at the portal and Seto glared at Ryou who was confused by the look. _'We didn't even get into battle and he already despises me. Maybe even more than the Earth warriors.'_ he thought.

"The chosen stage will be the Dragonfly." Raiden announced. They nodded and they walked into the portal. Once they were on the stage, they pulled out their weapons and jumped into battle when the signal was given.

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The Dark warriors watched the battle, some speaking quietly with one another about Seto's movements. Bakura smirked as he stood in the shadows, watching the battle. _'At least he listened. I know he wishes for nothing to happen to that boy and he already has a problem with Mai going after his target. But now that I think about it, how will he explain this?'_ he thought. He saw the soul clone walk down the stairs silently and over to his side and he wrapped an arm around him once he was close. The clone looked to the shadow mirror that was showing the battle.

"Is that the boy you wanted, master?" he asked, pointing to Ryou. "Yes and hopefully one day, he will be in my arms just like you." Bakura replied. The soul clone looked down sadly and he looked to him. "What's wrong?" he asked. "What will happen to me once you get the boy? Will I be left alone while you spend your time with him?" The clone questioned.

"No, I will return you back to him. I created you from him and gave you an artificial mind. It may not be much but at least it gave you feelings and such. Once he's here in my arms, you will be returned back to him as part of his soul once more." Bakura answered.

He nodded and snuggled closer to him.

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Ryou won the first match without much problem but felt that something was wrong. _'I know the Dark warriors are more powerful than this. So what could be wrong with him?'_ he thought and got prepared for the next round. The wood groaned and creaked at the large wooden vehicle flew through the air still.

The wind blew past them as they watched each other before Seto made the first moved and ran towards him, slashing at him but he blocked it with his staff. He backed him up towards the edge of the circular platform.

Ryou's foot slipped and Seto backed off slightly, giving Ryou a chance to regain his balance. He charged up some magic and shot it towards Seto who flew back a bit from the force of the magic. He implanted one of his swords into the ground so he wouldn't go off the stage before looking towards Ryou.

Ryou ran towards him, staff ready but he pulled out his sword and blocked him. This continued on for a while before Seto knew it was time to end it and let him win for Jou's sake. When Ryou made another swing towards him, he made to block it but lowered his sword, letting the blow hit him.

Ryou watched him and watched to see if he was planning to get back up. But he didn't and the match went to him. He continued to watch him as Motaro came to pick him up. _'I felt it, he was holding his true strength back but for what reasons?'_ he wondered before walking through the portal as well and walked back with Raiden.

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Later in the night, Bakura snuck out from the temple and left to heard to the Earth warriors' temple. He silently slipped through, hiding in the shadows as he encountered Malik walking past, muttering to himself as he left. _'Wonder where he could be going at this time of night?'_ he thought to himself before he continued on his way towards Ryou's room.

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Ryou was still awake, still thinking about the battle with Seto._ 'I don't know why I should be worrying about it but I need to find out why he was holding back. I know he had more strength than that but in his eyes, there was a longing. Like he let me win for the sake of another but who could it possibly be?'_ he thought. He heard someone opening his door and he laid down, feigning sleep.

The person walked in quietly and sat down on his bed. Bakura smiled as he looked down to him. "I'm glad you at least stood up to Seto. I could easily see that he wanted to battle to his fullest but he didn't want to risk that boy's life in my hands." Bakura gave a tiny growl at the thought, a hand clenching at the comforter on the bed.

"I will not tolerate anyone defeating you until I battle you. I know you may wish to fight at your top strength and you will get that chance soon, when you battle against me, my little tenshi." Bakura whispered as he ran a hand through his hair before getting up and leaving once more.

When he was gone, Ryou sat up and sighed. _'So that's the reason, he threatened Seto with someone's life. I should've expected much but who could it have possibly been that would actually cause him to back down so much?'_ he thought before he went to sleep.

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Malik waited in the forest, tapping his foot irritably. _'Where is he? I don't have all night to wait for him.' _he thought before he herd the crunching of boots walking across the forest floor and turned to see Marik standing there with a smirk. "Alright, we're both here now what do you want with me? I'm still pissed that you sat there and almost beat Sonya within an inch of her life." Malik snarled.

"Well, you should count your lucky stars I didn't kill her. And I didn't do that to only impress Sheeva and Motaro." Marik spoke.

"Then why did you do it and why does it concern me?" Malik demanded.

"To show that I'm not going to be merciful for anyone that stands in my way to you. Only so many know of the reason why I keep coming to fight and torment you." he said as he walked towards him but Malik glared and he stood back but still kept the sly smirk.

"Then why? Why are you continuing to mess with me?"

"Why? Because I like you. You're the only one that has proven to be a challenge and not only in fighting." Marik confessed and that stunned him silent. _'I know he didn't just said that. He doesn't like me. He just trying to throw me into a false sense of security.'_ Malik thought.

"And whatever you're thinking, it isn't true. I meant every word and before this tournament is over, you will be with me and I'll take you willing or not." Marik quipped and with a short laugh, left him and headed back to his own temple.

Malik glared at him before heading back to his own. _'Some way, I'll make sure he's dealt with. I'm not going to let him have me. He won't even be able to come near me.'_ he thought as he continued to walk back to the temple.

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The next day, a knock was heard on the large doors of the Dark warriors' temple, echoing through the empty halls. Everyone was still asleep and Yami woke up to the incessant knocking. he called for a beast from the shadows and out came a large wolf with a small spiked shoulder plate on his left shoulder. White eyes looked to his master. "Go see what's at the door, Black Dog Beast Bow (1)." Yami muttered, burying his face back into his pillow and the beast nodded as he left.

He ran down the stairs and to the door, opening it with his mouth. He looked to the tall man that stood at the door. The man looked down to him and sneered. "Where are the fighters in this temple? I need to speak with them." The man said. He barked lightly before leading him inside and let him stay in the sitting area before heading back upstairs and to Yami and Aqua's shared room.

Yami turned his head on the pillow when he heard him walk back in. "Who was it?" he asked. /It was a man that wanted to see the fighters. Should I go and tell Sheeva and Motaro?/ The beast asked.

Yami groaned lightly before sitting up. "No, I'll tell them. Why don't you do me a favor and check up on Cynec at the Earth warriors' temple. If you wish, you can stay there with him and Yugi for added protection. Make sure to leave your name somewhere where he can find it." Yami said and he nodded before leaving through the shadows.

He sat up, yawning before getting up from bed and woke up Aqua. "Come on, we have someone to deal with downstairs." Yami said and he nodded as they left out to wake the others to meet with the man.

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When everyone was awake and downstairs, Sheeva and Motaro stepped up. "Who are you and what do you want here?" Motaro asked. "I'm Keith and I wish to join your group of fighters."

"Ok then, you can but first you must tell us what special abilities you have?" Sheeva asked.

"As my final move, I summon a machine-based monster to dispose of my opponent and when I want, I can become a large crocodile. I used a circular sword (2) as my weapon of choice." Keith explained. Sheeva nodded and then looked to Motaro.

"What do you think?" she asked. "He may probably be a good asset but he will have to prove his skills in battle. Today's match will prove whether he's good for the team or not." Motaro said.

"Fine with me. I'll show you that no measly Earth warrior will defeat me." Keith spoke. "Good, then you can choose your opponent yourself." Sheeva said and told one of them to bring up the list of Earth warriors.

Aqua did so and Keith examined each one before pointing to Jou's name. "I'll take him on and I'll probably defeat him easily as well." Keith jeered with a laugh, unaware of Seto's eyes narrowing into cold slits.

_'You won't kill him unless I kill you first. He may despise me now that he knows that I'm part of the Dark warriors but I won't let Mai or anyone else get to him.'_ Seto thought before leaving the room.

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Zypher: And that's all for this chapter. Made it nice and long but anyways, Keith's here and he's ready to kick butt. But of course, I never liked the prick so he'll probably get himself killed. Hoped you liked the chapter and will be waiting for the next one. See you all soon.

(1) - Black Dog Beast Bow was a monster I found while looking over some manga scans of Yugioh R. Look at pg 16 of the Yugioh R special to get a pic of him.

(2) - The circular sword I'm was trying to explain was the one that Shigure from Yu Yu Hakusho used in the battle with Kurama in the Three Kings Tournament. I forgotten the name so there may be a problem visualizing it unless you seen that episode or heard of it before.

Stages:

The Dragonfly

It's a massive wooden, flight-based mode of transportation that is known to be the fastest one in the Outworld next to an actual dragon or celestial teleportation. It's a plane-like model with two wings supporting it with a large dragon head at the front. There is two flaps that act as wings at the back of the Dragonfly as well.

In the center is the circular platform where the matches takes place and it's very windy atop of it so I will probably make characters seem unstable cause of the wind blowing on them as they fight on this stage. There is no stage fatality for this stage. There are also more than one in the Outworld and each has a set location.


	11. Blue Dragon Savior

Zypher: Well, I do believe it was a long while since I have continued this story. Thanks for all the reviews and I hoped you'll like my latest installment to challenge of the Kombat.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 10

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The next day, Raiden came in to tell them of the latest battle arrangement. "The Dark warriors have gained a new fighter overnight and he has decided to go against you, Jounouchi." Raiden said. "Really? Why me?" he questioned. "Probably cause he thinks you're weak. He's new so show him what fight you have in you, Jou." Malik responded, not liking the fact that the Dark warriors are trying to insult their strength. He turned to him and nodded. "I will." he said and then turned back to Raiden. "So, when is this battle suppose to start?"

"Whenever you're ready." Raiden answered and he nodded before turning back to his friends. "Well, wish me luck." he said and they nodded. "You got all the luck you need from each of us." Diamond said and he nodded and with a grin, he followed Raiden out to the portal.

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When they got there, Keith looked over to his opponent and almost laughed out loud. "So, you're the punk named Jounouchi? You look so weak, this match will go be fast." Keith said gruffly and he growled. "We'll see about that." Jou murmured and they went in through the portal. when Motaro and Raiden weren't watching, Seto entered through the portal, intent on making sure Jou wasn't killed in this battle.

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When they got there, they prepared for battle, Keith bringing out his circular sword and Jou his Black Dragon Staff. When they were given the signal, they jumped into battle, Jou blocking the first out of many attack being made by Keith.

"I won't let you win against me." he growled and Keith smirked. "We'll just see about that weakling." Keith grumbled as he pushed him back, making him stumble before he charged at him again.

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Dae Raca, the beast that Yami had brought out the night before, made his way towards the Earth warriors' temple. He knew about the battle and hoped that it won't be a problem getting inside to find Yugi. When he got there, he pawed at the door, hoping someone will come.

Inside, Yugi heard the faint scratching at the door and got up. His movement caught Keara's eye and she looked to him. "What's wrong, Yugi?" she asked. "Nothing, just thought I heard something at the door and I'm going to check it out." Yugi answered. "Be careful." He nodded as he left the sitting room and headed to the door.

When he got there, he opened the door and looked outside. He heard a faint bark and looked down to see him sitting there. "Now where did you come from? First it was the dragon and now you." Yugi murmured and he whimpered lightly. He smiled softly and stroked his head, Dae Raca nuzzling his hand.

"How about you come inside? I may not know where you came from but I believe I can trust you." He nodded and Yugi pat his head once more and then held the door open for him and he walked inside, Yugi closing the door behind him and led him into the sitting room.

Keara looked to him and then spotted Dae Raca. "Where did he come from, Yugi?" she asked. "He was outside. I don't know where he came from but I didn't want to send him away." he replied as he sat back down, Dae Raca lying down beside him as they continued to watch the battle.

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Jou and Keith continued to fight, either of them not backing down. "I won't let you win, Keith." Jou snarled and Keith only laughed in his face. "You barely made a scratch on me. What makes you think you're capable of defeating me. Your blood will be spilt on this stage." Keith growled as he pushed him away once again and swung the circular sword, catching Jou's chest and he winced, backing away and hitting the wooden fence that led to the lower part of the stage. Keith charged at him once again, breaking the fence and knocking Jou down onto the lower level.

They both didn't know the dangers of the lower level but Keith didn't care, only determined to defeat Jou. From above, Seto continued to watch, praying in his mind that Jou can defeat him, seeing that the only thing they need to worry about was the cliff that could lead to their doom. Jou got up slowly, his hand gripping his staff tightly as he glared at Keith. "I'm not giving up." he whispered as he ran at him, swinging the staff around and bashing him over the head.

He flew back and growled as he wiped a spot of blood from his lips and charged in again. The battle went on, both men slashing and hitting the other until Keith was standing in front of a weak ledge that they didn't notice. Jou stood across from him, panting hard and bleeding heavily. "Come on, boy. What's wrong? Can't take heavy blood loss?" Keith jeered and bellowed in mocking shame.

"I knew it, you couldn't hold up against me. I'm surprised you lasted this long but no punk teen like you could win against me. You're nothing but a weakling. Raiden made a bad choice inviting you to this tournament because your strength could never compare to mine." he said and laughed again.

Jou glared at him, listening as he continued to laugh at him. Soon, he cried out and charged at him, surprising him with his new-found strength, and he slammed him into the wall behind him. "Don't call me weak! I'm not weak! I went against stronger people than you and you're no exception!" he shouted, slamming him against the wall with each proclamation.

As he was about to slam him against the wall again, they both heard the sound of rock crumbling and looked up, seeing the statue that sat of the ledge teetering over. Jou gasped when he saw it fall and Seto's eyes widened before he swooped down, grabbing him away from Keith.

Keith himself didn't have enough time to get away and with a scream, he was crushed by the large statue. Jou held onto the blue dragon that saved him as he flew above the battlefield, looking down to Keith's dead form before looking up to the dragon. "Where did you come from?" he questioned.

Seto didn't speak but created a portal back outside and left the Golden Desert.

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"What happened?" Crimson asked quizzically. "I don't know but it looked like something blue swept down and grabbed the boy before he could get crushed. And to think, that Keith guy was about to win." Mai replied, though angered that Keith could've killed Jou. And she also had a fleeting suspicion that Seto had something to do with Jou's sudden rescue.

"Well, someone needs to go tell Sheeva or Motaro that Keith is dead." Yami said, balancing a dagger of shadows on the tip of his finger before grabbing it and threw it at the wall. "I'll go tell them." Aqua spoke as he got up and left the room. With the battle over, everyone left to do something else.

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Seto landed somewhere in the forest that sat between the two temples and let Jou down. Jou turned and looked to the haunting blue eyes of the dragon that reminded him so much of Seto. "Who are you and where did you come from?" Jou asked, wanting to know where the mysterious blue dragon came from.

Seto gazed down at him before he shifted, becoming himself once more and Jou gasped. "It was me." Seto murmured. Jou snarled and turned away from him. "What do you want, Seto? Didn't you already do enough damage to me? To think, I thought you was someone else but after that battle you had with Ryou showed me you were nothing but a liar." Jou told him.

"Please, Jou, let me explain. There was a reason why I didn't tell you that I was part of the Dark warriors." Seto said, walking closer to him. "And what reason would that be?" he questioned, still not turning to him. "Because, I wanted to get to know you without the rivalry of our two groups getting in the way. I really love you, Jou, ever since we first met. I could never think of a day without you in my thoughts but I knew that if you found out that I was a Dark warrior, I would never had a chance." he explained.

"So that gave you the right to lie?" Jou growled, turning to him but his breath caught in his chest when he saw the defeated look Seto gave him. "Yes. I really wanted to learn more about you, Jou, but not on a battlefield. That's why I never mention to you that I was a Dark warrior." Seto whispered and sighed.

"But I guess now that the truth's out, there's no reason for us to ever see each other again unless it's to battle." He turned away from him, walking off. "Jou, I thank you for the times that I was able to talk with you without worrying about fighting."

Jou couldn't say a word but knew he couldn't just let Seto leave with a broken heart. "No, wait! Seto!" he said and ran towards him, grabbing his shoulder and he looked back to him. "What is it, Jou?" he asked.

"Just don't go yet. I'm sorry that I acted that way. I didn't know that you really loved me that much, I mean, I remember what you and Mai told me a while back but I wasn't really thinking that it was true." Jou whispered and then wrapped his arms around him. "And I know who my heart chose and that's you. I don't care anymore about us being of opposing sides, as long as we don't lose one another."

Seto smiled and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close but was careful of the wounds he sustained. "Thank you, Jou. You don't know how happy you made me." he whispered as they stood in the forest, just happy to be within each other's arms.

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After the battle, the other Earth warriors started to worry about what happened to Jou. "You don't think he was also crushed, did you?" Ryou asked softly. "I don't think so. I saw something blue past by and he was gone before the statue fell." Diamond replied. "So whatever that was, it saved him from certain death." Syrus whispered. "But the problem now is figuring where he is now." Jax muttered.

They heard the door open and Jou walked inside. "Hi guys. Hope I didn't worry you."

They all jumped up and ran to him, Diamond and Keara taking him to a chair to work on the wounds which he forgotten about and they were now starting to burden him again. "Where were you, Jou, and what happened?" Yugi asked. "Well, I guess you saw what happen and all I can say is that a blue dragon came to rescue me from death." Jou replied.

"A blue dragon? Where did a blue dragon come from?" Malik questioned and the others pondered about it, all except for Leon who knew who the blue dragon was but seeing the happy glint in Jou's eyes, didn't mention who it was.

"Well, wherever it came from, we're happy to know it helped you." Jax said and he nodded. Once the two girls were done with his wounds, they sent him up to bed so he can relax and regain his strength. Afterwards, they all decided to relax as well, Raiden giving them a break before the next battle was to commence and left the temple to see which fighters were to be pitted against each other for the next match.

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Yugi walked up to his room with Dae Raca by his side and opened the door, seeing Cynec was awake. "Hey, you're awake." he said as he walked in with the other beast beside him and he almost snickered as seeing his condition. /What happened to you?/ he asked through a mind link he had with the dragon. /Don't laugh...I fell out of a tree while I was watching Yugi./ he said back and the beast howled with laughter. Yugi looked down to him, wondering why he was laughing and then saw the glare that Cynec sent and knew what he was laughing about.

Yugi walked over to the bed and pat the dragon's snout before he spotted a piece of paper on the nightstand and picked it up, opening it and saw a small message.

_'My name is Cynec.'_ was what it said and he believed that said dragon left it for him. He looked back to him and saw the dragon was glaring at the still howling beast. "Cynec, stop glaring at him. Even though I would be laughing too to see such a graceful creature such as yourself fall from a tree." Yugi said and he looked to him, pouting. He laughed softly and stroked his snout, making him purr. "Now come on you two, how about we get some rest before the next battle starts." Yugi said and they nodded after Dae Raca stopped laughing.

He climbed into his bed beside Cynec and Dae Raca jumped up onto the bed as well, curling up at the bottom. Yugi wished them both a good rest before he snuggled into Cynec's side and fell asleep. When he was deeply asleep, he didn't noticed that someone appeared in his room. Yami sat down in a nearby chair, watching Yugi as he slept._ 'So beautiful.'_ he thought as he ran a hand through Yugi's hair, hearing him mewl softly in his slumber.

_'Soon, little one, we will meet and hopefully you will accept me and Aqua into your heart despite being on opposite sides.'_ Yami thought before placing a gentle kiss upon his goldenrod bangs and left just as quietly as he came.

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Zypher: There's chapter 10 for you all. -dust off hands- Well, I do believe that went well, Jou and Seto got together but that will make Mai pissed but she'll be dealt with soon. Now who should I work on next. Maybe Marik and Malik? Or maybe Ryou and Bakura? How about you choose for I have a special chapter set dealing with Yami, Yugi and Aqua which you will see soon. But for now, hoped you have enjoyed this chapter and will be waiting for more. See you soon.

Stages:

Golden Desert

Stage Fatalities (might have not been counted in the game but I call them stage fatalities anyway):

1. As stated in the battle with Jou and Keith, when an opponent is slammed into the wall where the weak ledge it, they will be hit by a few rock fragments before a huge statue of the Buddha falls on top of the opponent and crushes them.

2. When someone in knocked over the cliff on the second level (since I never actually saw it myself so I'm taking a guess), they will be either impaled on stalagmites or blown apart into many pieces from impact, majority votes wins if you vote for mode of death for the second stage fatality.


	12. Trusting Soul

Zypher: Long wait once again for the chapter of more fights and more romance. Curse you evil brain factory! Stop melting down on me when I need you the most! Anyways, I'm happy you all enjoyed the last chapter so I hope you will enjoy this one as well. You better watch yourself in this chapter Ryou. -cackles evilly and starts to cough- Bleh, I'll never get it right.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 11

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In Mai's room, it was a total death zone. Things was strewn across the room and some things were either clawed or broken apart. She screeched again, clawing at the wall and leaving deep gashes there. "That little brat! I knew it! I just knew it and now he has Jou!" she screeched. "I'll kill him! Somehow, someway, I'll kill him for taking Jou away from me!" she cried again.

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The next day, the Earth warriors got up for a new day and ready for the next fight. Diamond and Keara prepared breakfast for them, Malik taking a plate up to Sonya who was still bedridden, before they all headed into the sitting room to wait for Raiden. He came a few minutes later and stood before them. "Good morning, everyone. I do hope you all had a good rest." he said, looking to them in which they all nodded. "Now, for today's match," he started, staring at Syrus.

"It will be you against Pegasus in the Chamber of Artifacts." he spoke and Syrus nodded as he got up shakily, still thinking he isn't ready for battle. Diamond got up as well and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll do well, Syrus. We all believe in you." she said and he nodded before he went to follow Raiden out. They watch him go before some left to do something else and others stayed to wait for Raiden so they could watch the battle.

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Back at the Dark warriors' temple, everyone was watching the fight except for Seto. He waited for everyone to be occupied with the fight or something else before he snuck out, unaware that Mai saw him leave and excused herself to follow him as well._ 'Whatever he's up to, I will stop. He may have Jou now but I will make sure that he won't have him for long.'_ she thought

Bakura was upstairs, not caring about the fight. The soul clone laid beside him, quietly dozing in a dreamless sleep. Bakura looked down to him and got up. _'I think it would be time to see if my little angel is out training today.'_ he thought, leaving a short note so the clone wouldn't worry and expose himself to the others before leaving.

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Ryou indeed was training outside, determined to get rid of the pent up anger he held towards Bakura. He knew that Seto had more strength and wanted to fight his opponents at their full strength._ 'But he ruined it. How can I prepare for stronger battles if he threatened my opponent with their life or that of someone else? I hate him so much.'_ he thought, swinging his staff around once more. Bakura watched from the shadows, a smirk on his lips as he watched Ryou train. _'So graceful and cunning. I can't wait until you're mine.'_ Bakura thought, slipping out of the shadows and coming up behind him.

Ryou sensed him coming and huffed. "Leave. Your presence is not wanted." he said, moving away from him. Bakura frowned and moved closer to him. "Now what did I do to make you angry at me?" he questioned mockingly. Ryou growled and swung around, ready to hit him with his staff but Bakura countered the blow with his katana. "Because of you, I couldn't fight the battle like I wanted to!" Ryou sneered.

Bakura growled, pushing him away and held up his katana in notion to attack. "And what makes you think I interfered with that battle?" Ryou growled again, making another move to attack and he blocked it once again. "Don't play coy with me! I heard you that night after that battle with Seto and you were the one to make him lose on purpose because you threaten him with someone's life! I don't know who but you piss me off because of that!" he said, pushing him away and stomped back to the temple but didn't get far as flaming figures appeared on front of him, more coming to surround him and Bakura.

"So, you heard my little secret that night, did you?" Bakura whispered, walking closer to him. "Well, if you must know, I threaten him for a reason. I told you that I wasn't going to let you die in this tournament and I'm planning to keep my word by all means necessary. My team, except for certain people, are greedy and want that power that Khan is planning to grant us. I did at first but I didn't care once I found another prize I wanted to get." he continued, still watching him as he advanced forward still.

Ryou started to back up but he could only so far and Bakura's face came close to his, noses touching lightly. "A-and what's that other prize?" Bakura smirked and reached around the back of his head, bringing his head closer and kissing him soundly on his lips. "You of course. You and your heart." he whispered before backing off. "And I will get them both soon enough." His voice echoed as he and the flaming figures disappeared as quietly as he came. Ryou stood stock still from the kiss, shakily placing a hand up to his lips before shaking his head and continued to train.

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Syrus winced as he crashed up through the glass floor and back down again. He and Pegasus were battling on the floor below the one they were on at the start. He adjusted his glasses as he stood up again, holding his Crusader Sword and Dagger in hand. "You ready to lose, little boy?" Pegasus taunted, holding his sais.

Blood dripped from various wounds but both were still raring to battle. Pegasus won the first match and it was winding down to these last few moments. "I'm not going to lose." he said before charging forward but Pegasus kicked out and flung him back, causing him to hit the back wall.

"I think I'll end it here." he said before shifting into the form of a pegasus and stomped forward. Syrus tried to get back up but it was too late, large hooves grounding him back into the floor and he cried out hoarsely. Pegasus grinned as he stomped him again and then left him, shifting back and seeing as he wasn't getting back up, they deemed him the winner.

Raiden came in and picked up the younger boy along with his weapons and left out. Pegasus also left out and followed Motaro back to the temple, a smug smirk on his face.

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Diamond waited by the door anxiously, worried about Syrus and when he came in through the door, she gasped, seeing there was a lot more damage caused because of Pegasus and gently took him from his arms and headed upstairs with Keara. The others watched, seeing that Syrus was in worse damage as they thought.

"I hope he will be alright." Yugi whispered, Dae Raca nuzzling him. "I'm sure he will. He fought valiantly in that battle and I know his spirit is still strong since he wants to feel more as a part of the team." Raiden said, looking to them. They all knew that he was already a good person to be on the team and knew that he tried his best in the battle.

"Well, there is much time left before the next battle so why don't you all take it easy and do something." he continued and they nodded before they all left to find something to do.

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Yugi was walking outside with Dae Raca and Cynec, glad to have some peace out in the forest. _'I think this will be the best time to tell Yugi I can speak. I have that odd feeling Yami or Aqua is somewhere in the forest.'_ he thought and looked to the younger teen. /Yugi? Yugi?/ he said and Yugi looked around curiously.

"Hello? Is someone there?" he asked and Dae Raca moved to stand in front of him. /Yes, me. I kept it a secret so you wouldn't be afraid but I think now is the time to say I can speak./ he said and he looked down to him, shocked. "But how?" he asked. /Probably because of the special magic that let beasts like me speak./ he said, not mentioning directly that Cynec can speak as well.

Yugi nodded and they continued to walk through the forest. "Well, that's good to know. At least I have someone to talk to when my friends aren't available." Yugi said and he nodded. /But I didn't tell you that I can speak for nothing. I also have some things to tell you. About Yami and Aqua./ he said and Yugi turned back to him, stopping.

"What do you mean? I know enough about them. They're on the Dark warriors' side in means to help free Shao Khan and sooner or later, I'll be battling them."

/Ah, but that is what you know because they're on that side. There's much more that you don't know about them that doesn't relate to that and I'm here to tell you./ Dae Raca corrected. Cynec snickered from his spot and Dae Raca glared at him. /Shut it, you overgrown lizard./ he snorted before turning back to Yugi. /Come, let's continue our walk and I'll tell you more about them./ he said and Yugi nodded as they continued on.

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Up in a tree not far from them, Aqua sat. He was quietly playing a sitar, the soft melodies floating throughout that portion of the forest. _'I wonder if Yugi will come by here soon.'_ he wondered, eyes closed as he continued to play. Not far from where he was, Chazz was prowling through the forest, grinning. He saw Raiden walk away with the injured Syrus and was on his way to try and get him while he was still weak. _'And this time, no one will stop me.'_ he thought.

He came across the path Yugi was taking and growled. Yugi looked up and Dae Raca paused in his talk, growling as well. /What are you doing here?/ he questioned. /Just like I told the brat behind you before, it is none of your business but my own./ Chazz said, looking ready to attack.

Cynec stepped forward, glaring menacingly at him. He snarled, stepping forward once more and Chazz growled before running off, knowing it was best he didn't try to do anything, especially with Cynec and Dae Raca there to tear him to shreds if he hurt Yugi. Yugi smiled and patted his side in thanks before looking up, hearing faint music now.

"Do you two hear something?" he asked. Dae Raca's ears flicked and nodded. /Sounds like Aqua's here in the forest. Only he could play such wonderful melodies with a sitar./ he said and he ran along the path towards where he should be. "Hey? Wait up for me!" Yugi called, climbing onto Cynec's back and he followed behind Dae Raca.

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Aqua continued to play before he looked down, hearing Dae Raca barked eagerly. "Ah. Hello, Dae Raca. Did you bring Yugi with you?" he asked and he nodded. "Good." he murmured, still playing. Cynec finally arrived and Yugi climbed off his back, looking up into the tree. "It's you." he spoke softly. He nodded. "Yes, it is me. I'm glad you even remembered me." Aqua spoke as he stopped and jumped down to stand in front of him. "How can I not." he said, walking over to him but stopped just short of him.

Aqua said this and sighed lightly. "You still can't trust Yami and I?" he questioned. "Well, from what Dae Raca told me, I could but I'm still wary since we are of opposing sides and the chances of you turning on me and trying to kill me or something like that still worries me." Yugi confirmed. Aqua walked over and placed his hands on his shoulders, looking deep into his eyes.

They were both unaware that Vivian and Anzu was in the forest, talking with one another about their love interest when they came upon where they were and Anzu shushed Vivian and pulled her out of sight. "What was that for?" she said and Anzu shushed her again. "Look." she whispered and Vivian turned to see Yugi and Aqua. "What could they be talking about?" she wondered. "I don't know but their closeness is irking me a bit." Anzu murmured and Vivian nodded in agreement.

"Yugi, I will tell you now, any battle that is fought between you and one of us won't result in death. We could never do that to such a gentle soul like you and even if they try to force us, we'll kill ourselves instead." Aqua said and Yugi gasped. "But that would result in the match ending out in a Hari Kiri. You can't do that." Yugi spoke, holding onto his arms lightly and looking down slightly.

"But we will if it means another day of life for you."

Yugi shook his head lightly. "No, please. I know we're on opposite sides but my life means nothing if you two are willing to kill yourselves just so I can live. Not only will that make Shao Khan mad but he'll probably put more pressure on your teammates so they can take me out because of him losing fighters that didn't result from some sort of fatality."

Aqua raised one of his hands and brushed a lock of hair from Yugi's face, still unaware of the two girls watching. "Yugi, you mean much more to me and Yami than you think. For all we know, this whole tournament is a waste but I'm glad it happen or we probably would've never met you." he whispered and then looked over to Cynec and Dae Raca. They got the message and left them in peace, Anzu and Vivian hiding so they wouldn't be seen and once they were gone did they peek back out. Aqua place a hand underneath his chin and lifted his head so he would look up to him.

Yugi looked up quietly into Aqua's eyes, crimson depths holding truth to his words and he knew, right then and there, he could trust him and Yami. After that thought, he didn't know whether it was impulse or the sheer delight of doing so but he soon found their lips meeting together in a kiss.

Anzu and Vivian held a hand up to their mouth in horror at what they witnessed but was soon in white hot rage towards the other. They glared at one another. "And what does your little lizard doing with my sweet Yugi?" Vivian demanded. "He's not a lizard. I should be demanding what _your _little shrimp is doing with _my _precious dragon?" Anzu retorted.

They would've been at each other's throat if they didn't hear Aqua starting to speak once more.

"Yugi, it will soon be time for the next match. I hope you will do well if you're picked for the next match." Aqua said and Yugi nodded. "I hope so as well. I wish good luck to you if you happen to be in a match as well but please, don't hurt my friends like Marik did to Sonya." Aqua smiled softly, kissing him once more before stroking his cheek softly. "I would never. I can tell you that I as well as Yami is considerably stronger than your friends but we will keep our strength to a minimum so they won't be hurt in any way." Aqua said and Yugi smiled.

"Thank you."

"It's nothing. Now you best be getting back to your temple. Maybe we can see each other again soon."

"I'll see about that. And I want to also tell you that you and Yami have my trust now and possibly much more. I just hope everything will turn out good in the end." Yugi whispered as they parted ways. "I'm sure it will. For all of us or at least those that deserve to still live through this." Aqua muttered and started to play the sitar as he walked off, Yugi soothed by the melody until he was out of hearing range.

Once they both were gone, Vivian and Anzu glared at each other again. "You better keep your dragon away from Yugi."

"Oh really? I should be saying the same to you." Anzu growled. "Wait wait wait. Maybe we can break them apart ourselves. You know Yugi wouldn't give up his trust so easily if he didn't think that Yami and Aqua won't hurt him. If we could do something that will show Yami and Aqua not caring about him, they will be split up and you can have them and I'll have Yugi." Vivian suggested and Anzu nodded.

"That may work. Better than my idea of trying to kill him off." Anzu said and Vivian glared at her as they both got up. "You were trying to kill him! I would've killed you if you succeeded with that!" she hissed. "You're lucky one of Yami's dragons saved him before that did happen and you couldn't beat me. I've been training long and hard just so I could impress Yami and Aqua with my strength." Anzu said and Vivian only snorted as they continued on their way back to the temple.

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Seto gave Jou one last hug before he left and he was ready to head back when he heard a crack of a twig and turned, seeing Mai there. He smirked and turned to her fully. "So, Mai, have your feathers in a ruffle?" he taunted and she growled. "Oh, you won't be playing around once I'm done with you." she said, stepping forward. "I'm challenging you, right now, to a death match. One round. Whoever wins or is still living has Jou's heart for good." she said and Seto only huffed. "Just give up. Jou decided to be with me and nothing will change that." Seto said.

"Well, I'm changing that. I was the first to meet him and I deserve to be the one to be by his side. Not you. He probably would've chosen me over you if we kept to our little deal about letting his heart choose." Mai said, glaring daggers at him. He snorted before returning her glare. "Fine. I'll accept but I promise you, you won't be winning Jou's heart today or ever again." She nodded before she made a move to leave. "Meet me at the portal in five minutes. We'll be battling on the Falling Cliffs stage." she groused before leaving.

"Fine." he said as she left before sighing._ 'Jou, please, give me strength to win this battle. Who knows what tricks she will try to win and take your heart when she doesn't deserve it.'_ he thought before unfurling his wings and flew off to the portal.

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Zypher: And that's all for today. Now is the battle you all been waiting for, Seto the Dragon vs Mai the Harpy for Jou's heart. Who would win this battle? (which is very obvious) And not only that but Anzu and Vivian are making a plan to split up our two loving demons from their soon to be koibito. Will they be able to stop them? (also very obvious) Anyways, enough of my ramblings. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and for those that isn't a Mortal Kombat fan or haven't played Mortal Kombat: Deception, Hari Kiri is a final death move that the defeated opponent causes to themselves, mostly done before the winning opponent can use a fatality.

As you can see, I can most certainly say I won't be planning these to any characters, at least the main ones. Those that will die throughout the story won't plan to do it because they're stubborn enough as it is, that's why they're going to be dead soon. Even if I did, they're probably come back next chapter but if you want a list of Hari Kiris that would've been done if I added them for the main characters of the story, tell me and I'll put the list in the next chapter but for now, like I said before, hoped you all enjoyed the chapter and will be waiting for the next. See you soon.


	13. Two Dead, One to Go

Zypher: And here we are with the next chapter to Challenge of the Kombat. I thank every deity that I thought about writing some of the future battles ahead of time so I wouldn't be getting lost with anything like I normally do. Anyways, I'm glad you all loved the last chapter so here's the next and probably most favored out of all of them. Oh and as for the Hari Kiris for the main characters, requested by Red Dragon of Egypt, they will be placed at the end of the chapter.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 12

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Seto waited for Mai, the portal already leading to the Falling Cliffs. Mai soon arrived and she glared at him. "Come on. I want to be done with this battle quickly." she said as they walked inside and took out their weapons. "Fine by me. One I deal with you, I will have no one else to worry about." Seto growled. They started to battle immediately. Seto easily started to beat Mai with his twin swords, overpowering the use of her whip. Soon, the weapon was flung from her hands and she hissed, bringing out her claws and charged at him again.

He blocked most of her slashes, wincing when her claws was able to nick his skin. The battle raged on, Seto getting only several wounds while Mai was riddled with them. She was already having trouble standing and Seto smirked at her.

"Give up while you still have blood. I would rather kill you but I'm willing to let you live if you stop hounding Jou like he would become yours." Seto said. "Never!" she hissed and started to screech long and loud which forced Seto to hold his ears, face scrunched in pain. She started coming closer, making him back away.

Because of the intensity of the battle, they've forgotten about the falling edges of the cliff and the battlefield was narrowing down. Seto's foot slipped and he quickly brought out his tail to push him back before he could fall off but under his feet he could feel the nearly cracking edge that's about to collapse.

She grinned as she saw him near his death. "Now it's time for you to die, Seto Kaiba!" she howled and lunged for him. He gasped and formulated a plan quickly in his mind before smirking. _'I won't be the one dying today.'_ he thought and waited. When she got close and quickly unfurled his wings and jumped into the air, making her gasp.

"Goodbye forever." he hissed and slammed his tail down on her back, causing her to quickly plummet down to her doom. She screamed in terror as the wind whipped by her, giving her no time to unfurl her own wings and with a sickening plop, she was impaled through her stomach cleanly by a stalagmite.

She tiredly struggled on the piece of rock, thinking she could free herself from the pain that shot through her mind and body, but her will soon gave and she fell boneless upon the stalagmite. Seto watched from the skies and smiled, glad he was able to get away from death. _'If I didn't have my powers of a dragon, I probably be the one down there.'_ he thought before creating a portal and leaving.

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Yugi smiled softly as he chatted with Dae Raca, still in a gleeful bliss at the kiss that he and Aqua shared earlier. _'Maybe, just maybe, I could be with them both. It's surprising that I would feel something for Yami and Aqua instead of one of them but so far, compared to the other fighters on their side, they're the ones that care about me and want to keep me safe during this tournament.'_ he thought. He soon heard and knock at the door and Keara poked her head inside.

"Yugi, are you planning to come downstairs for a little while? Raiden said he was going to leave soon with the next person for the next fight."

"Sure."

Yugi climbed off the bed and giving a quick pat for Cynec and Dae Raca, he left downstairs with Keara.

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Anzu watched from the stairs as Seto came back into the temple, bloodied but with a satisfying smirk on his face. She ducked down when she saw Aqua walk in from the kitchen, a piece of raw meat in his hands. "So Seto, where have you been?" he questioned.

"Normally I wouldn't tell you but I rather tell you than to have anyone else know. I just came from a battle with the harpy and I killed her."

"Would've guessed from the blood and claw marks on you. What did she try to do?"

"She was threatening to kill me so she could claim Jounouchi's heart." he said. "Ah, the blonde haired one. Figures since I did hear her prattling about how she was planning to make him hers. Mostly just to grate your nerves and prove that you didn't deserve anyone. Glad you was able to capture his heart before her." Aqua said, gulping down the meat to satisfy his demonic instincts but knew he as well as Yami required a human or lesser demon meal to keep their instincts at bay for a good few months or so.

"I'm glad as well. I best get myself cleaned up before Mokuba finds out that I'm back and start asking questions or Sheeva and Motaro show up." he said and Aqua nodded before they both left in different directions. Anzu smirked and ascended the stairs and headed to her room silently.

_'This sounds great. Sheeva and Motaro have been keeping a closer eye on us. I'm guessing by Khan's orders and if I tell them about Seto's little escapade with Jounouchi and his little victory over Mai, they'll probably start giving restrictions to us and that will keep Yami or Aqua from meeting the brat.'_ she thought and then stopped when she came across Bakura's room.

She heard voices, two of them and the other surely didn't sound like Crimson. _'And even more people to expose. This gets better and better.'_ she thought and quickly ran out of sight as she heard the door open and Bakura sauntering out, closing and locking the door behind him before leaving downstairs. She knew better to not be around Bakura's room while he's inside cause he won't hesitate to kill if they were to learn about what lies in his room, hidden away from everyone else.

Coming across Marik's, she once again heard voices, gladly it was only Marik.

"Soon, my precious little warrior. You will be mine. Everyone knows me to not be a patient person nor a reasonable one," he said and Anzu had to nod at that. _'He got that right.'_ she thought and listened in more. "So I may just take you from your little temple and have you stay with me and see if you can learn to love me. I wish not to hurt you and I will make sure no one else will." he said softly and Anzu thought she heard the distinct sound of cackling from him.

Knowing this could be the death of her but was becoming more curious to the fact of Marik talking to himself, albeit the fact that he, as well as Toben, is slightly on the psychotic side, she crept closer to the door and turned the knob, flinching when she heard a click but glad she didn't hear anyone moving inside the room and opened it just a fraction, looking into the dark room.

The only lighting was a few black candles which, because of the dark room, made it look like the fire was floating. She looking around discreetly before spotting Marik sitting on his bed with something in his hand. Even with the dim light, she can see the ghost of a smirk on his face, teeth gleaming in the golden glow of the candles. She opened the door a little more and thought she saw a doll in his hands but the sudden movement of something on the floor when she opened the door more caught his attention and his gaze snapped over to her.

He growled, dropping what was indeed a doll that was sown and clothed to look exactly like Malik, and got off the bed, glaring at her. "And what does little Anzu thinks she's doing in my room? You haven't been eavesdropping, have you? Cause you know, when it comes to me," he started, shadows encompassing his right arm and growing in deadly claws.

"I _kill_ eavesdroppers and use their flesh and blood for a midnight snack." he hissed and Anzu backed away. "Oh, of course not! I would never eavesdrop on you! Just came to tell you that...uh...Sheeva said she wanted us to wait downstairs to pick the next person for the fight that should be starting soon!" she quickly said.

He snarled and walked closer to her, bringing the sharp shadow claws up to her face. "I'll go down there but know this, if you're lying, I will hunt you down _and_ kill you and I better not catch your scent anywhere inside _my_ room, got it?" he said, tapping the underside of her chin with a shadowed nail of the claws and she nodded quickly and fearfully.

He smirked and pulled his hand away. "Good." he said before leaving after he closed the door behind him. She gasped and quickly headed towards the room Sheeva and Motaro was most likely in, knowing she best not even bother to figure out where he got the doll.

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After telling them what she knew and glad that they wouldn't speak word about what she told them, she headed back downstairs to wait for Sheeva so she could choose the next round fighter before leaving to meet with Raiden.

Sheeva walked downstairs and looked to them all. "Alright. Before I pick the person for the next round, I was given some orders. From a valuable source, Motaro and I learned that some of you are becoming a little too outgoing so Shao Khan has now demanded restrictions. None of you can go out between fights if we have more than one nor can you go out during the day. Anyone who is seen disregarding these restrictions will be suspended from battles unless Shao Khan has a more fitting punishment for you." Sheeva said and some of them growled, mainly Aqua, Yami, Bakura, Marik, Seto, Crimson and Toben.

"Whoever told them will die." Marik whispered.

They nodded and Sheeva looked to Anzu, choosing her to battle in the next round and she nodded. "Wish me luck, guys." she said, sending a wink to Yami who only snorted, turning his head away from her as they walked out.

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Raiden came in and looked to them all before looking to Yugi. "Yugi, why don't you battle in this round today." he said. "I don't know..." he started but got encouragement from his friends. He smiled to them before nodding. "Ok. I'll go." Raiden nodded and they soon left. Once they reach the portal, Yugi glanced up at his opponent who sneered in disgust.

"Alright, the stage they will battle on is the Ying Yang Island." Motaro said and Raiden nodded before looking down to Yugi. "Yugi, the only advice I can give to you is to watch out for the shifting of this stage. It may change abruptly when you least expect it to so be wary about it." Raiden said and he nodded and once the portal was ready, he and Anzu stepped through and both Motaro and Raiden left.

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Back at the Dark warriors' temple, Yami and Aqua saw who Anzu was going up against and gasped. "We need to get there! She will kill him when she has the chance!" Aqua said and Yami nodded. "Screw the restrictions! I'm not going to lose him." he said as they both left without no one noticing.

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Once they were given the signal, they brought out their weapons and started to fight. Yugi was doing pretty well holding out on his own against her attacks, making Anzu even angrier with the fact that she could possibly be beaten by him._ 'I'm not going to lose. I won't lose to him. He's the only thing keeping me from winning Yami and Aqua's heart and even if this will piss off Vivian, only one of us can get the man we want.'_ she thought.

Give or take a few more seconds, the island soon shifted from the warm, sunny day to a cold, rainy night. The trees were soon changed into large snakes, hissing and looking down at them menacingly. Yugi looked up to the snakes that were once trees and gasped, falling back.

_'I know Raiden warned me about the island but I didn't know he meant drastic changes would be happening when it changed. No wonder why it's called the Ying Yang Island.'_ he thought. Anzu wasn't at all phased by the change but grinned when she saw she had the opportunity to take care of Yugi before he could retaliate and charged in, sending magic spell after magic spell to hit Yugi.

He winced as the spells hit and quickly got up, using his sword to block most of them. "You're not going to win! Once and for all, I will get rid of the thing that is keeping me from what I want so much!" she snarled. He batted another spell away and made a move to attack her but one of the snake heads took the opportunity while they were close and swooped down to try and bite one of them but they quickly moved out of the way. Once they were out of range of the snakes, they came at each other again, weapons clashing.

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Yami and Aqua soon arrived at the portal, the immense anger they felt causing them to change into their demon forms and Yami brought up to stage they were fighting on._ 'Kill her. Kill her.'_ his mind chanted and he was eager to listen. "Come on. We need to save him." he growled and Aqua nodded as they both left in through the portal to the island which shifted back to the lighter side.

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They continued to fight, Yugi becoming more confident and determined to not lose against her. He won the first round with ease but Anzu quickly got back up, also determined to avoid losing the fight against him and they continued on with the second round. The island shifted once more and flinched slightly when he heard thunder in the distance and Anzu took this time to disarm him.

He gasped when his sword went flying from his hands and landed near one of the snake heads so he couldn't get to it without being bitten. Anzu grinned, pointing her wand towards him in means to finish him but then notice something even better. Right there, near the shore was some fish swimming but not just any fish, they were piranhas.

But she knew that with some of the strength he had left, he could possibly do something to survive the piranhas and using her magic now that he was disarmed, gradually started weakening him until he could barely stand. She was unaware of the danger above her. She sauntered over to Yugi and picked him up by his shirt collar.

"Well, Yugi," she spat, a victorious gleam in her eyes. "Any last words before you die?" she questioned and he glared up at her weakly. "None but I'll tell you this, when one of my friends go up against you, I will laugh from my place in the heavens when I see them take you down with no mercy to you because you killed me."

She growled and walked over to the edge of the beach where the piranhas were and was about to throw Yugi in when shadows grabbed hold of her and dragged her back. "Hey! What's going on?" she screeched as the area darkened enough so that even those watching couldn't see what was about to happen which worried Yugi's friends back at the temple. She dropped Yugi and he quickly moved away from her, looking up into the sky when he was the faint flapping of leathery wings.

A figure swooped down and an agonizing scream came from Anzu. Yugi looked up and his eyes widened when he saw who it was. "Yami? Is that you?" he whispered to the figure that was clamping down upon Anzu's throat. He nodded slightly, cerise eyes glazed with hunger as he bit down harder and she screamed again.

Aqua landed and look to him. "Yugi, this happens to be a form we can take. We were born as demons but take a mortal form to hide it. We only show it when we are hungry or angered and she has brought out both our anger and hunger." he explained, looking back to him.

"We don't want you to watch this so please, advert your eyes." he spoke and he nodded. He walked over to Yami and with quick movements, they started to tear and rip flesh from Anzu, her agonizing screams becoming like music to their ears. Yugi covered his own, closing his eyes so he wouldn't turn to see what was going on.

Once they were satisfied, Yami picked up what was left of her and was about to drop her in the pool but with the little strength she had since they didn't completely polish her skeleton off from flesh nor did they take her head from her body, she was able to do one last thing with what little consciousness she had.

Without them noticing, she quickly chanted a spell and soon, the magic engulfed Yugi who gasped but it wasn't loud enough to catch their attention. They threw her body into the water where the piranhas finished off what was left, turning the water blood red and they turned back to where Yugi sat, only gasping lightly. "Curse her." Aqua hissed, seeing as she used her babality spell on Yugi and now, there he sat, as a young baby.

Large amethyst eyes looked up to the two demons and Yami walked over to him, picking him up and cradled him in his arms. "Well, we can't let him go back like this."

"Then let's take him back to the temple. We need to get back quickly before Motaro or Sheeva finds out we're gone." Aqua murmured and he agreed as they created a portal leading back to the temple and went inside, the shadows leaving the stage.

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"Oh no. Where's Yugi?" Kaiser questioned.

"Let's hope he wasn't fated to whatever was in the water." Diamond said, pointing to the patch of bloody water. The rest of them started to worry, hoping that nothing happened to him. "Let's hope that his opponent was the one who was taken care of whatever was in the water instead of him." Jou said.

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"Hey, where's the kid and Anzu?" Siegfried questioned. "Knowing that boy's strength, maybe he threw Anzu into the water so she could be devoured by the piranhas." Crimson said with a snicker. "Or it could've been the opposite." Dartz said. "Let's hope not!" Vivian shouted and then covered her mouth. Dartz looked over to her. "And why not? We should be defeating and killing all the Earth warriors like Shao Khan told us to. Why would you want to have the boy alive?" he questioned.

"Uh...because...because I want to go against him! I've been wanting to go against him ever since we went to observe them!" she lied. Dartz was becoming suspicious but nodded.

In another part of the temple, Yami and Aqua stayed with Yugi. Yami conjured up a shadow mirror and soon, Dae Raca appeared. /Is something wrong, Master Yami? Everyone is worried about Yugi since he didn't come back and we don't know what happened in the battle./ he said.

"Everything's alright, we took care of Anzu since she was about to throw Yugi into the water that was infested with piranhas but since we didn't completely devour her and left her head on her shoulders, she used what little power her dying body had and changed Yugi into a baby. We couldn't let him go back like this since that will worry them more so we're going to watch over him at the temple away from prying eyes." Yami said and Dae Raca sighed in relief.

/That's good to know. Is there anything me or Cynec can do to ease the others' worries?/ he asked. "Yes, leave a note somewhere and tell them that Yugi didn't die in the fight and he's in safe hands and will be coming back soon." Yami said and he nodded as he went to do as Yami asked. Yami let the mirror disperse and walked back over to Aqua who was cradled Yugi in his arms.

They were still in their demon forms and may still be until the week is over but they will care for Yugi and make sure he is not harmed for demons such as them, will never let the one the loved be harmed by anyone or anything.

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Zypher: And that's it for this chapter. Anzu's dead and Yugi's a baby. What hazards will happen while he's in this state? What will Seto, Marik, Toben and Crimson do just to slip by Sheeva and Motaro's watchful eyes just to see (or mess with) the ones that they like? When will I stop asking questions like these? Meh, anyways, hope you all like the chapter and will be waiting for more. As requested by Red Dragon of Egypt, here's the character Hari Kiris (which in general, to me, is a redirection of their fatalities onto them instead of their opponent for most of them since I couldn't think of good ones that weren't already in the game)

Hari Kiris

Yami - Uses one magic box which impales him with swords or turns into his demon side and rips out own heart

Aqua - Turns into his demon side and rips out own heart

Yugi - Summons Silver Fang who bites his neck and rips out his throat

Bakura - Burns himself to death using underworld fires

Marik - Uses shadows like needles and impales himself

Diamond - Takes ones of her arrows and stabs herself in her heart

Ryou - Calls down one of the Saints and he impales him with one of their swords

Syrus - Freezes himself using magic acquired from Diamond

Crimson - Uses claws to slice open his own neck, may nearly slice off his own head if desired at that moment

Toben - Turns into his demonic form and easily cracks his neck

Jou - Calls Red Eyes who takes him and dive-bombs him into the ground which instantly kills him

Malik - Prays to Ra and is soon burned to ashes by Ra's holy flames

Kaiser - Whispers incantation to turn himself into stone which soon cracks and breaks apart

Ruby - Makes a trap appear and kills himself using it

Seto - Calls Blue Eyes White Dragon to use White Lightning on him

Mokuba - Calls one of his Capsule Monsters which slaughters him

Leon - Opens storybook and takes out a poisonous apple which he eats and soon fall dead within a second

Topaz - Drinks from a bottle and shoots flames up into the air which rains back down on him and once the flame shower's done, all that's left of him is bloody patches of skin and fur where the high intensity flames didn't hit

Long list but that's all of them. Like I said before, hoped you all like the chapter and I'll see you soon.

Stage:

Ying Yang Island

Stage Fatality

As said in the story, when a opponent in near the water (preferably when the island is on the dark side since I don't know if you can do the same while it's on the light side), a kick or a punch from the other will result in the opponent falling into the water and being devoured by piranhas quickly and leaving a spot of blood in the place where they fell in.


	14. A Heated Battle Between Aqua and Vivian

Zypher: And here's another chapter for Challenge of the Kombat. I think it's been a while and I'm betting you all are wondering what Yami and Aqua are going to do while taking care of baby Yugi. We'll you're going to find out now. Hope you enjoy.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 13

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During the week, it wasn't hard for Yami and Aqua to care for the baby form of Yugi. To them, he was more of an angel now then when they first saw him. Aqua laughed softly as Yugi crawled over to him and wrapped chubby arms around his left arm. "Are you hungry, little one?" he asked and Yugi gurgled an answer. He smiled and stood to leave and grab something for him. Not a moment later, he came back with a bottle filled with milk and walked back over to where Yugi sat. He silently fed and burped him before lying back down on the ground beside the full child.

Yugi crawled over to his side and snuggled close to him, making him smile. Yami came into the room a bit later and looked to them. "So, how's he been?" he asked quietly, seeing that Yugi was about ready to take another nap. "Like the angel we could wish for. I just fed him so he should be ready to fall asleep soon. Hopefully he will soon turn back even though I will miss spending time like this with him." Aqua answered as he looked down to Yugi with a soft smile. Yami smiled as well and walked over to them, kneeling down to gently nuzzle Yugi who gave a small burble in happiness.

Aqua stood and lifted him up before walking over to the bed and laid him down upon the bed. With a wave of his hand, a small violet blanket appear in his hand and he draped it over the small child. "Have a nice nap, my sweet angel." he whispered, placing a gentle kiss upon his forehead and soon, Yugi was asleep. They smiled down to him before they left out the hidden room silently. "Shall we go and check on the next battle?" Yami nodded as they both left to head up to the sitting room to see who would be picked for the next battle.

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"I'm so worried about Yugi. Where can he possibly be?" Jou questioned as he paced through the sitting room. "Jou, just calm down. Yugi's wolf friend gave us a note saying he was safe and in good hands and I think we should trust whoever is watching him. We may not know what happen but if he's wounded, whoever came to help must be taking good care of him." Diamond spoke.

"But that's the thing! How can we trust this unknown person with our friend?" he shouted, looking over to her. "Jou, just trust us. I'm sure that the person wouldn't let one hair upon Yugi's head be harmed." Keara spoke, looking over to him.

He turned to look at her before sighing, collapsing on the couch beside Ryou. "I just want to make sure Yugi is alright." Jou whispered Raiden soon walked in and looked to him. "Yugi is alright. He's in very good hands and I assure you that." he spoke and Jou looked up to him.

Knowing that he would never lie, he nodded. "Now, as for today's battle, it will be Topaz against Dartz on the Lin Kuei Temple stage. Are you ready for the battle?" Raiden asked and he nodded. Topaz stood up and look to them with a smile. "Wish me luck." he said before following Raiden out.

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"So, my little sphinx warrior is battling. Time for me to intervene." Toben said with a smirk as he went to look for Dartz. Dartz was preparing to meet up with Motaro when Toben came from the shadows. "Hello, Dartz. Hope you learned from you last lesson when you went up against Malik, right?" he whispered as he stared him down. Dartz swallowed, remembering the threat he gotten from Marik. "Yes, I know. I suppose you don't want me to hurt him in any way. Am I correct?" he questioned and Toben nodded.

"So you are smart. That's good. Well, like Marik warned you, he better not be killed, only wounded. If I see him get killed, it will be your head and to assure that you keep to our little deal." Toben spoke, placing a hand over his heart and Dartz winced as a shadow parasite slipped through his skin and nestled deep in his heart.

"My little shadow parasite will make sure of it but I warn you, one slip up and your guts will be flying all over the stage." he said with a laugh as he walked off. Dartz groaned as he placed a hand over his heart before walking off once more, now knowing he was in alot more danger than before. _'Just one slip up and I'm done for.'_ he thought as he finally met up with Motaro and they left out to make their way to the stage.

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Once the battle started, everyone from both the earth side and the dark side watched with rapt attention but noticed that this time, Dartz was really hesitating with his attacks. "I wonder what's up with him this time? Last time when he went against that Malik kid, he was wary of his attacks and now, he's not even bothering to fight back." Pegasus spoke.

"Yeah, it makes you wonder, doesn't it?" Marik said with a hint of acknowledgment as he looked over to Toben with a smirk. From the shadows, Yami and Aqua watched the battle, unaware that Vivian was missing.

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At the moment, Vivian didn't care about the battle and was now on her way back to the room when she saw a portion of the floor sticking up slightly. "Hmm, I wonder where this leads to?" she wondered as she lifted up the floor and headed down the hidden path. the path was dark and she almost tumbled to the floor a few times but she manage to finally get to a lit hallway and started making her way along the path.

She stopped at the only door she spotted and looked around to make sure no one was around before opening it. She gasped when she saw the young baby lying on the bed, still peacefully sleeping. But not only that but she could recognize that hairstyle anywhere.

"It's Yugi. I can't believe it's Yugi. Right here in the temple. But it looks like Anzu use her Babality to change him into nothing but a baby." she spoke softly as to not wake him as she walked closer to the bed. She could feel the raw aura around the room and knew it must've came from one of the other fighters but she couldn't place who, of course.

"It's surprising to see him here so I'm taking the guess that Anzu was the one to die in that battle. Oh well, tough luck for her but she at least gave me the chance to make Yugi notice me. Even if he's a baby, I'm sure all his memories about what happens as he is now he will still remember even when he's turned back to normal." Vivian said with glee as she gently took the bundle from the bed and quickly left out the hidden area and back to her room, forgetting about shutting the entrance.

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Dartz easily lost the first round which caused some uneasiness from the other fighters that were still wondering about why he wasn't fighting with his full strength, mainly Pegasus and Siegfried. Aqua turned to look over to Yami. "Yami, I'm going to go and check on Yugi. Tell me who wins even though I have a feeling Dartz will lose anyway since he was probably threatened by Toben to not harm his opponent." Aqua said as he left. "I have a feeling you're right, Aqua." Yami whispered quietly to himself.

Aqua walked through the hall before coming up to the hidden entrance and gasped when he saw it was open. _'But who could've came by?'_ he thought and then realized that Vivian was never in the sitting room to watch the battle and growled in anger. _'She wouldn't dare.'_ he hissed in his mind as he ran down and towards the room where they kept Yugi safe, her scent permeating the entire hall. He came up to the room and opened the door to see that Yugi was gone. He growled even more before leaving out the hall and headed towards her room.

Once he got there, he heard the sounds of Vivian's cooing and Yugi's cries above all and snarled as he slammed the door open. "Vivian! Give him back to me!" Aqua snarled and she jumped before turning to look at him. "No! This is the chance of a lifetime to take care of him and have him notice me!" she hissed, holding Yugi close but he only cried more. "He doesn't like you! To him, you're only another Dark warrior that he can't trust!"

"Oh yeah? And what makes you any different?"

"Like I would tell _you_. Now give him back to me." he growled.

"Never!"

Aqua would've lunged at her if it wasn't for the fact she still held Yugi. "Fine then. How about this. We both have a battle, one on one. Whoever can defeat the other will take care of Yugi until he returns to normal." Aqua suggested and she nodded. "Fine by me! I'll make sure I win this!" she said as she placed Yugi onto her bed before walking out the room with a huff. Aqua walked over and Yugi's cries subsided as he looked up to him.

"Don't worry, little one. She will go down without a problem. I will not let her get away for making you cry so much." Aqua whispered as he nuzzled him before picking him up and disappeared through the shadows back to the room and laid him down on the bed again and covered him with another small blanket of royal purple before leaving, making sure the hidden entrance was closed the right way to prevent anyone else finding it.

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The battle was easily won by Topaz and Dartz walked up to his room without a word to anyone, the shadow parasite exiting his heart and back into the shadow powers of Toben who smirked to see that he listened for the sake of his life. Once everyone was gone, Vivian and Aqua made their way to the portal without Sheeva or Motaro noticing their leave and Aqua made a portal to the Kwatan Palace. "Prepare to lose your life here, Vivian." he said as he walked through. "I won't count on it." she spoke as she followed him. They stood on opposite sides of the field and once Aqua gave the signal, they charged in to fight.

Vivian did her best to hit him with punches and kicks but he dodged them easily, Vivian not knowing he was toying with her. "You will never win, Vivian. Only one could defeat me in my demon form and is surely won't be you!" he said and with a hard punch, knocked her clear off her feet and close to the stage's edges. Aqua was easily given the win and Vivian got back up, wiping a smudge of blood from her lip. "Who cares if you're a demon. I will win this battle!" she growled, charging in to start the next round.

Aqua didn't waste no time to attack her, getting nothing but successful hits while Vivian's were all blocked. She knew she may lose but tried to put all her power into her attacks but none made a scratch on him. Soon, they were on opposite sides of the stage again, Vivian panting hard as she was covered with various bruises and scratches while Aqua was completely untouched.

"You think you could have Yugi as your own just like Anzu wanted us as her own. We knew of your plans to try and split us up but let just say it wasn't going to work. We love him and nothing will separate us. Not even this tournament. And to assure that you won't dare try to split us up again," Aqua spoke before gathering a black and red fireball in his hand.

"This is where you die." he whispered as he threw the fireball at her and the flames soon engulfed her. She screamed in agony as the flames burned her flesh and she tried to pat them out but it was fruitless. Aqua only watched with a smirk as she started backing away, unaware she was getting closer and closer to the end of the stage.

With a final scream, she fell off the edge and into the pit of lava below, everything about her being melted away in the molten lava. Aqua snorted, pleased with his win before making a portal back to the hidden room where Yugi waited and walked through.

Yugi was still awake and turn large eyes to him before cooing in happiness. He smiled and walked over to the bed, sitting down on the edge and picked him up. "Don't worry, she's gone now and she will never come back for you." Aqua whispered as he caressed Yugi's baby face lightly before lying down, Yugi snug in his arms and soon fell asleep.

Yugi gurgled softly before snuggling closer to the sleeping demon and went to sleep as well, his mind silently thanking the gods that gave him this opportunity not only to know more about Yami and Aqua that they possibly never told another soul, but to have the feeling of being cared by someone that loves him more than a friend.

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Zypher: And that's it for this chapter. Everyone loves my caring demon scenarios and what better way to see these two so caring and devoted to Yugi while he's stuck as a baby. Don't worry, Yugi will return back to normal probably somewhere in the next chapter but more dangers will be awaiting not only for them but the other earth warriors. Want to know what happens then started sending in those lovely responses! I'll see you all later!

Note: I'm working hard with the final chapter of Yami no Game but the sequel will be a little delayed since I wasn't able to find the first and second volumes at any of the bookstores I went to or Pandora's Cube the day I went out. I'll try again this Tuesday and hopefully I'll have it out soon for you all. To make you all happy, when I get to a lemon scene for the sequel, I'll make it extra long for you all since you all are waiting so eagerly for it and it bearing with me. So sorry for the long wait not only for the last chapter of Yami no Game but the long wait for the sequel as well.

Stage:

Kwatan Palace

Stage Fatality (It isn't one in Deadly Alliance but I count it as one anyway):

Below the hanging circular field where the fighters battle each other is a giant lava pit. Any opponent close enough to the edge can get punched or kicked off which will lead to their swift death in the lava pit.


	15. Easy Win and Acid Trip Revenge

Zypher: Hi all and welcome to another chapter to Challenge of the Kombat. Glad you all enjoyed the last chapter so much. I mean, who can resist a baby Yugi? Anyways, again, glad you all enjoyed and here's the next chapter for you all.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 14

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After the week went by, Yugi was back to his regular self but decided to stay with Yami and Aqua just a while longer before heading back to the Earth warriors' Temple. Both Yami and Aqua were still in their demon forms but Yugi didn't mind a bit. He learned more and asked questions about it during the time he spent with them.

"Wow, I never knew you two had to go through so much during your lives." Yugi said as he sat on the bed beside Aqua. "Yes, it was a tedious moment for us but we learned to live with it and as of now, we are thankful for the powers we had or else we would've never met you." he said before he waved a hand to reveal a mirror that viewed the outside.

"It's getting dark and we best let you get back to your temple." Aqua said as he stood and picked him up, ready to open a portal directly to Yugi's room but Yugi placed a hand on his outstretched arm. "Wait, can we fly back? I want to spend as much time as possible with you since I don't know when I'll ever see you again unless you two get into a battle." he whispered and he smiled softly.

"Of course but I will still need to make a portal outside so none of the other realize you were here all this time. Knowing Siegfried, Dartz and Pegasus, they wouldn't think twice with telling Sheeva or Motaro this and you may get hurt." he said as he created the portal and walked through, appearing back out in front of the Dark warriors' temple.

Yugi gripped onto his shirt as he spreads his wings and kicked up off the ground into the moonlit night. There was not a cloud in the sky as Aqua continued on his way towards the Earth warriors' temple and by the time he landed in Yugi's room, the boy was already asleep. He chuckled softly as he moved over to the bed and placed him down.

Afterwards, he quietly conjured a shimmering black blanket that glimmered like it came from the clear night sky itself and draped it over him. He then created a small star dragon plush toy and placed it beside the sleeping teen who grabbed hold of it and cuddled it as he felt the softness of the toy, a smile on his face. As a last gift, he weaved the shadows to make a glorious bouquet of roses, the soft petals also the same color as the blanket, in a diamond vase and placed them onto the side table.

After that was done, he looking down to Yugi with softened crimson eyes. "Sweet dreams, Yugi." he whispered before leaving through a portal back to the Dark warriors' Temple.

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Later that night, a figure was seen heading towards the Earth Temple, pissed beyond reason and for only one reason. _'You will pay for this, Leon. I'll make sure of it.'_ Siegfried thought as he pried open the door inside the temple and walked in, closing it behind him. Prowling like a silent jungle cat, he made his way through the corridors until he found the locations of the rooms where they stayed.

Silently, he started to open each door, looking for Leon. As he looked into Ryou's room, said person started to wake and Siegfried closed the door just as he was fully awake. _'Is someone in here?'_ he wondered before he climbed out of bed, grabbing his staff and left out the room.

He spotted the silhouette of Siegfried in the dark corridor and his eyes narrowed. "Hey you! What are you doing in the Earth warriors' temple?" Ryou demanded and Siegfried turned to him. "Nothing you need to know about. I'm here to complete something that doesn't involve you or your little teammates." he growled as he was about to search another room when he was knocked down by a blast of magic.

"I don't think so. I know you're part of the Dark warriors and whatever you have planned may not be good for whoever you're looking for." Ryou said as he readied another ball of magic. Siegfried snorted in anger as he stood, taking out his Kriss Blade sword.

"So, its a fight you want, hm? I guess I can take you out of your misery before I deal with the person I came here for." Siegfried spoke as he ran in to attack and Ryou blocked with his staff. The battle continued on with no wounds being made on either and Siegfried was increasingly getting angry.

"That is it! You are hindering my time here to finish what I want to do! You will die now!" He said as he readied a powerful slash and swung down at Ryou who was unable to block in time. He closed his eyes and he waited for the blow to connect but then heard metal hitting metal and looked up to see Leon standing in front of him, holding his own Roman Warrior sword to block the blow.

"It's time for you to head back, nii-san." he hissed as he pushed him back and turned to help Ryou up. "He's your brother?" Ryou asked. "Yep, and I know he came here for one thing. To kill me." Leon replied as he readied his sword for battle as Siegfried sent a glare to him. "Why?" he asked.

"Because I join the side of good instead of staying by his side and win the competition so he can get the power he wants to make his gaming company the largest in the world." he said as Siegfried ran in for another attack and Leon blocked it before countering with his own blow.

He flew back and growled as he got up and charged in against and with Ryou's help, they both injured him just enough to make him run off but he promised that he will be back to finish the job. "And I'll be waiting. You've changed ever since this offer of power and if defeating and or killing you is the way to go, then I will." he said quietly to himself before bidding Ryou goodnight and they headed back to their room, glad that Ryou casted a silence spell over the battle so no one would wake up during the night.

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The next morning, Yugi was still curled under the blanket that gleamed in the morning sun. He shifted a bit, holding the plush toy more before opening violet eyes. "Yami? Aqua?" he looked around before rubbing his eyes and realizing he was back in his own room. _'Oh yeah, that's right. Aqua brought me back last night.'_ he thought, a little solemn that he couldn't stay with them for a few days more but knew the dangers of doing so.

He then looked down to the bedspreads and was in awe at the inky black blanket with the intricate stars gleaming on it like the night sky. _'Aqua must've gave this to me.'_ he thought before feeling the plush toy beside him and saw it too was the same color as the blanket but what really caught his eye were the roses.

"They're so beautiful." he whispered as he climbed out of bed, holding the toy in his arms as he walked over to the side table and plucked one from the diamond vase. He smelled the wondrous scent from them and sighed happily, holding the rose to his heart. _'The scent...just like them...exotic spices...'_ he thought.

He placed the rose delicately back into the vase before bringing the toy into his arms, hugging it. "I love them so much now. They did so much for me and will even willingly kill themselves to let me live. I could never think of a more devoted person than that." he whispered before tossing the toy into the air and catching it, bell-soft laughter ringing throughout the room.

He continued the action, eyes glittering like a child at Christmas and from the shadows, Yami and Aqua watched, a smile on their face at seeing Yugi so happy. _'We will always keep you happy in every way possible, little angel. You deserve to have the world at your feet and the stars plucked right from the night sky and into your hands. We will give you anything you want, little one. All you need to do is ask.' _Yami thought before they both disappeared back into the shadows and to the Dark warriors' temple.

After playing with the toy a little longer, he placed it back onto his bed before getting ready so they could see what the next battle was.

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After they all ate, they sat down in the sitting room to wait for the next battle. "Ok everyone. Today's first battle is Aqua versus Jax." Yugi eeped softly and looked to Jax as he got up, ready to leave with Raiden. He got up and well and ran over to Jax. "Hey, Jax. I need to ask you something." Yugi said and the older male looked down to him.

"Of course. What do you want to ask, little buddy?" Yugi brought him into the corridor leading to the front door before looking up to him. "I know it may sound stupid coming from me but can you please go easy on Aqua?" Jax looked to him curiously as he knelt down to him. "Why's that? There's has to be a reason you want me to not hurt this guy."

"Well, it's a real personal reason to me and I can't really tell you or anyone else or else you all may get mad about me protecting a Dark Warrior." Yugi whispered and Jax got the hint. "Ah, I got it now! You must like the guy!" Yugi blushed and smiled sheepishly and Jax patted his shoulders, almost making him fall.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt him as long as he goes easy on me. I still feel bad for what happened to Sonya." he said and Yugi nodded. "It's alright. I spoke with him before and learned alot about him and both him and Yami promised me that they won't hurt anyone here as badly as Marik did when he went up against Sonya." Jax nodded before standing back up again and ruffled Yugi's hair lightly.

"Thanks for telling me that. Don't want to have you hatin' me for hurting your boyfriend." he said, laughing heartily as he walked off to follow Raiden to the portal, Yugi blushing all the while. A chuckle echoed through the hall and Yugi looked around before spotting crimson eyes in the shadows.

"Jax sounds like a good friend if he can accept us so easily." Aqua whispered as he came from the shadows, now returned to his regular dragon from. "Oh, Aqua. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the portal with Motaro?" Yugi asked. "Yes but I went ahead of him so he doesn't know whether I'm there or not so I popped by here to see if you will wish me a little luck."

Yugi smiled and pat his snout. "I wish you both the best of luck but still make it convincing so none of your other teammates thinks you're going easy on us." Aqua nodded. "Of course. I will have to since Sheeva and Motaro are keeping a closer eye on all of us so if we showed any hints of being nice to you or your teammates, we may have to suffer some consequences. It's already worse enough to come out to meet you without them suspecting something since they already shut us out from leaving the temple." Aqua explained.

"Oh." Yugi looked down quietly by Aqua lifted his head back up. "Don't worry. We don't care about those rules so we will still come to see you no matter what." Aqua said and Yugi nodded, hugging him softly before letting go. "Well, you best be heading to the portal now and also, thanks for the gifts you gave me." Yugi whispered and he smiled. "No problem, little tenshi." he whispered back, placing a soft kiss on his cheek before leaving back into the shadows just as Jou called him to come back into the sitting room so they can watch the battle.

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Once Aqua arrived at the portal, Motaro along with Jax and Raiden appeared. "Ok, the chosen stage will be Chamber of Artifacts." Raiden said and they both nodded before the portal opened and they walked through. When they entered the arena, they were on opposite sides of the field and once they were given the signal, they charged into battle, Aqua with his Bladed Talons and Jax with his Tonfa.

Their weapons collided and Aqua looked down to him. "I will go easy on you since I know for a fact I am much stronger than you would expect. I may just throw the battle since I really don't care if Shao Khan is freed or not. I already have the prize I want." he whispered.

"Got it and I will do the same since Yugi told me that he didn't want to see you hurt. Let's just make it convincing." Aqua nodded with a grin. "Got it." He raised his tail and slapped Jax back, causing him to slide across the glass paned floor beneath them. Jax sat up, rubbing his head before getting back up and they both continued the battle, weapons clashing with one another.

With a running shoulder slam move, Aqua was down and the first round went to Jax. Aqua shook his head lightly before getting back up and once they were given the signal again, he unfurled his wings and flew up into the air. Jax raised up his arms and a plate on his palms opened up, releasing two missiles that Aqua dodged before diving down, slamming himself bodily into the other and crashing through the glass beneath them, flinging them into the lower level.

Aqua jumped off, waiting for him to get back up and he did so. Jax grinned towards him as ones of his hands glowed blue and he clenched it into a fist before slamming the ground, a large shock-wave aiming for him.

He was hit with the shock-wave, flying back towards the wall but didn't fall forward. Instead, he embedded his claws into the wall behind him, smirking. Jax, without a second thought, charged towards him, fists ready to punch but he only hit the brick wall as Aqua flipped up onto the wall. Jax looked up to him with a grin.

"Man, you're pretty good." Jax said. "Thanks. You're not bad yourself." he said before flinging him away with a wing before lunging at him using the wall as a momentum. Jax dodged the lunge and with himself below Aqua, he gave a massive uppercut to his stomach, causing him to fly up through a glass pane of the floor above them and then he fell back through another, hitting the floor hard.

He didn't get up after that but he gave a hidden thumbs up to him to show he was alright and Jax nodded as they declared him the winner and the portal opened once more back to the forest. Jax walked out and when he was out, Aqua made his own portal back to the temple.

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When he and Raiden got back, he was congratulated for the win and Yugi smiled over to him. After everyone left to do something else until the next match, Jax walk over to his side and patted his shoulder. "Told you I'd go easy but he is a formidable person to fight." Jax said, rubbing his mechanical arms a little.

"Yeah but other than his full power, he has many other secrets and I'm the only one to know of them. I can only guess even if they didn't met me, they both would still go easy on all of you because of that and to keep things fair." Yugi said as he got up and walked with Jax.

"Glad they do. With the he way you say that, it sounds even scarier to go up against either one of them at full power." Jax said. "Yeah. I can only bet if they went up against Shao Khan themselves, they will defeat him." Jax thought about this.

"You know, you may be right about something. If Shao Khan does happen to go free, you can ask for their help to defeat him for good and would save many a people, good or evil, from another Mortal Kombat tournament." Jax explained and Yugi nodded at this.

"You may be right. I'll ask them if I can ever get the chance to see them again." Yugi said, smiling up to him before they both left out the back to train with the others until it was time for the next battle.

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About two hours later, Raiden called them all back inside for the next match. "Ok, the next battle has been decided. Diamond, you're up against Pegasus." At hearing the name, she growled as she stood. "Good. I'm happy to go against him since I want to get him back for hurting Syrus almost to the point of death." she said, clenching her fists as she left out behind Raiden. "Good luck, Diamond." Ryou called and she nodded.

They made their way to the portal and saw that Motaro and Pegasus were already there. She glared heatedly at the other before listening in to Raiden. "The chosen stage will be the Deadpool stage." Raiden spoke as the portal opened and Pegasus walked in. Raiden held Diamond back before she could walk in and looked up to him.

"Be careful on this stage, Diamond. The Deadpool stage gets its name because of the acid pool that swirls around your fighting platform." Raiden spoke and she nodded. "I'll be alright. I won't go down so easily." Diamond said and he nodded before letting her go and she walked into the portal. When she got there Pegasus was waiting, sais ready and she brought out her bow and arrows. The signal was given and Pegasus charged in and she readied her bow, letting loose an arrow.

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Crimson yawned as he walked downstairs to see everyone watching the next battle. He flopped down on the couch beside Bakura and looked to him. "Who's up this time?" he asked. "It's your little princess against Pegasus." Bakura said, snickering. Crimson nodded, closing his eyes and ready to fall asleep again before his eyes snapped open.

"What?" he roared before looking to him. "Why didn't you come to wake me, you fool! If Pegasus kills her, I will kill you!" he hissed. "Why do you care so much? Unless you like her." Siegfried spoke and Crimson glared at him. "Shut it, you damn pansy!" he growled before turning back to Bakura. "When she gets hurt, I swear I'll-" Bakura shut him up by grabbing his muzzle.

"Enough, Crimson. Pegasus is an idiot who still watches cartoons. There's only so much of a chance he will win. For all I know, he will probably be tossed into the acid pool before anything can happen. Alright?" Crimson snarled before nodding and Bakura let him go. "Now just watch and don't go into any outbursts if something happens. We don't need Sheeva to come in and those two," He points to Dartz and Siegfried. "To say anything."

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Diamond hissed as she blocked another blow from Pegasus' sais with her bow. "I'm gonna make you pay for what you did to Syrus." she growled as she flung him away and he slid back. He chuckled as he looked to her.

"Oh, so this is what this rage is all about. Well, I should feel absolutely sorry for hurting him to the point of crushing him under my hooves but that's what happens to weak fighters. They get killed." he spoke and she growled as she ran at him, stringing another arrow onto her bow and shooting it at him. He jumped out of the way before grinning.

"Why don't we end this? I do have other things to do." he said before shifting into his animal form and charged at her, giving her no time to shoot another arrow and she ground her claws into the floor, grabbing hold of Pegasus as his charged connected and she slid back. She kept her hold on him as Pegasus continued to push against her, causing to slide slowly back towards the edge of the floor with the deadly acid waited.

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Bakura kept a hold of Crimson who looked ready to kill and his target being Pegasus. Yami sighed as he watched him before flinging a hand towards him and Crimson snarled as he was bound by shadows. "Let me go, Yami! I will tear him apart!" Crimson snarled as he struggled in his bounds. "Just keep quiet and continue watching. I have a feeling that she will win."

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Once they were near the edge, Pegasus smirked. /Give up now and I won't push you in the acid and tell them you admit defeat for this fight./ Pegasus spoke. "Never. I'm gonna make you pay one way or another and I'll tell you this." she started, looking down to him. "Here and now is where I'll avenge Syrus. Thanks for bringing me over to your death pool." she whispered before getting a good hold of Pegasus around his neck and with strength he wasn't expecting, she flung him over her shoulder.

With a whinny, he fell into the pool which hissed and bubbled as his flesh was eaten away. She looked back to the pool, a satisfactory smirk on her face as she watched the skeleton of Pegasus rise up in the acid before that too was eaten away.

A portal opened up behind her and she walked through and followed Raiden back and Motaro snorted and made his way back to the temple.

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Seeing that she won, Crimson relaxed and Yami released him. "See, I told you she would win somehow." Bakura said with a smug smirk and Crimson punched him in the shoulder as he got up. "You still could've woke me up before they left. Whether she won or not, I wasn't going to let that cartoon raving pansy hurt her in some way." he grumbled before heading back up to his room.

Bakura snorted as he watched him go before getting up as well. "I'm heading back into my room as well." He sent a glare towards the rest of them. "Knock before you come in if there's another battle happening today." he growled before heading up the stairs as well.

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Later in the day, Sheeva and Motaro walked over to the gate where Shao Khan waited. /So, how is the tournament going now?/ he questioned. "Not good. we lost a few fighters and one today. I don't know what's going on but it seems a few of them are going easy on the Earth warriors." Motaro reported.

/This won't do. Didn't you tell them they aren't free to roam out of the temple during any battles?/ he demanded. "Yes but it seems that few are leaving out either way. We can never catch them leaving but something must be going on that we don't know of." Sheeva spoke.

/This is an outrage! I want to be free from this gate now!/ he roared before looking down to them. /Whoever they are, find them. Find the warriors of the earth that are making me loose my warriors and kill them. Use assassins if needed but find them and recruit more warriors onto our side while you're at it./ he hissed and they nodded before leaving the gate.

/Those Earth warriors will pay with their blood for diminishing my chances to be free of this gate once again./ he growled as he waited for another report on the tournament.

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Zypher: There, I'm done with this chapter and it looks like Shao Khan is about to cook up a plan to get Yami and the others back on his side again. Now, I will need some help from you all. I need some new warriors from the Mortal Kombat series to add onto the Dark warriors side but most of them are neutral about what sides they're on and I don't know who to choose since I may or may not have them be killed off as the story progresses, might depend on who you choose and whether you want them to die or not.

If you have the time, looks up the characters from Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance and Deception and picks maybe about five that I should put in here and if they're happen to be some names of the same character in any of your reviews, I'll put them in but I really need some more since the basic people who are going to be killed are getting near the last few. Other than that, hope you all liked and I'll see you soon.

Chamber of Artifacts

This stage is almost made entirely of glass when you first start out on it. There are no death traps within this stage but there is a weapon called the Lungchuan Dao that rest in the center of the floor on the top level. The glass panes beneath the fighters are strong enough to hold their weight but hit one pane one or two times will cause it to break beneath the fighter and they'll fall into the lower level which looks the same as the top level except for its made up of stone with a few gears moving around and torches lighting up the area.

There's no way how to get back up onto the top floor except for when you uppercut your opponent through the glass floor which they fall back again through the other end but in here, its possible to get back up if the fighters fly or teleport back up onto the floor.

Deadpool

Stage Fatality

Like it mentions in the chapter, the square platform where you fight is completely surrounded by acid and once you knock your opponent or vice versa into the pool, you are eaten alive instantly by the acid, leaving the skeleton floating in the pool. This is a recurring stage from the Mortal Kombat 2 game for those who want to know a little more of the Mortal Kombat series from here.


	16. Slay or Be Slain

Zypher: Ok, well I decided to start this chapter a little earlier than expected thanks to some of your help for some new people to recruit for the Dark warriors. Realized when I looked over some of the notes for this story, I'd actually had some of them listed but they were under the sequel for this story though but oh well, the ones planning to show up will pretty much be the ones that won't be killed here but all in all, for those that aren't much into MK, you can look up the info for these guys on various websites so you know who they are and such like that.

The new characters shall be Baraka, Mileena, Kira, Kobra, Tanya Goro and Reptile (who is going to be evil for a short while but will become good since he's one of my favorite characters on the game even though I myself don't play it much. Since there's about maybe a good five to six different transformations of him throughout the MK games, he will be in the form from Deadly Alliance which you see will play a big role in later chapters)

Anyways, glad you all enjoyed the last chapter and I'll hope you'll enjoy this one.

Note: I will absolutely not be rhyming the Paradox Brothers' sentences. How they succeed with that in the show I will never know but I'm not going to. (besides, I can barely think of things to rhyme with)

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 15

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In the dead of night, two figures leapt through the trees, seen as nothing but moving shadows to the naked eye. Motaro and Sheeva were waiting at the meeting point for them and once they got there, Motaro stepped forward. "Are you the Paradox Brothers?" he questioned, looking to the two similar brothers in front of him.

"Yes, we are. We have received your message about a job." The first wearing a green outfit spoke. "Yes, we have some...difficulties with the tournament we are having against the Earth warriors. It seems some of our warriors are starting to fall for their charm and Shao Khan doesn't want that. We want you two to do away with them or at least the ones causing the problems and the others will take care of the rest." Motaro spoke.

They looked to one another before turning back to them. "We'll do it." Para, the one in the orange, spoke. "And since you look like our kind of people, we'll do this job for free." Dox added and they nodded before they followed the two back towards the temple before one of them make their way to find more warriors to assist their side.

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The next day, battle continued as normal, the warriors of the earth seeing that any battles with Yami or Aqua wasn't as dangerous as fighting a battle against Marik or Toben. After the latest battle of Topaz against Ruby, they all relaxed in the sitting room. They started to talk about life back home while Jax told them about the Special Forces Agency that he and Sonya worked for, getting much interest from Topaz, Jou, Malik and Kaiser about that.

Dae Raca walked downstairs and bounded over to Yugi's side, tugging at his sleeve lightly. Yugi turned to look down to him. /Aqua has something he want to present to you and he told me to come get you./ he whispered and he nodded before looking back to the others.

"I'm gonna rest for a bit. If you could, wake me up when the next battle starts." Yugi said and they all nodded as he got up, heading up the stairs with Dae Raca following. /You'll love what he prepared for you. I sure did and so did Cynec./ he spoke as they finally reached the door to his room.

Cynec waited outside for them and smiled down to him. Dae Raca looked up to Yugi. /Close your eyes and I'll lead you inside./ Yugi nodded and placed his hands over his eyes and Dae Raca gave a nod to Cynec. He opened the door and Dae Raca led Yugi inside and Cynec shut the door as he came in behind them and Dae Raca gave the notion for Yugi to open his eyes.

He removed his hand from his eyes and gasped in awe as he looked around his room. Everything was done up in obsidian and ivory, many obsidian and midnight blue tapestries hanging upon the wall with glittering diamonds sown within the fabric. His bed was now a four poster black oak bed with shimmering lily white drapes. He walked over to the bed tentatively and pushed open the drapes to looks down at his new bedding.

Along with the blanket given to him before, the sheets were a midnight blue with pillows of varying shades of the same midnight blue, sapphire, black and navy blue with the little dragon plush sitting on the top. On the roof was a mural of the night sky, a large full moon shimmering just as the real thing although faintly because of the daylight while around the room were many wall hangings with a bouquet of black diamond roses within them.

"This...This is all so beautiful." He turned to Dae Raca. "And he did all this for me?" He nodded. /Him and Yami. You should know they both will do anything for you and to keep you happy even in this tournament of death./ he spoke. "But all this...it seems to be so much for a simple human like myself to get from such glorious demons like them." Yugi whispered.

He jumped slightly as he felt arms wrap around his waist and a deep purr coming from the person behind him. "You are more higher above a simple human, Yugi." Yami whispered softly, Yugi's face lighting up with a faint blush as he felt the warm breath caress his skin.

"But you two didn't have to do this for me." he spoke. "But we wanted to. Not just to express our love for you but to express something on a deeper mean." Yami murmured as he picked up the younger and walked over to the bed. Yami laid down on the bed, Yugi resting comfortably upon Yami's chest, looking to him.

"So, what else is there that you want to tell me?" Gentle fingers ran through the soft strands as Yami looked down to him. "Well, as we told you before, we once lived back in the ancient past of Egypt and became demons during our lifetime. But what we didn't tell you is how." Yugi looked up to him with curiosity.

"Many always say that the darkness is nothing but the absence of light, with no form of any sort. In a way, that is true but only when the light isn't illuminating it, balancing it out. In the world of magic, there is two forms of powerful magic. The Black Magics and the White Magics.

"From these two magics, other magics from elements to manipulation of space and time branch off from these magics. But much evil has tried to manipulate and control the Black Magics but many have failed except for one. A magician by the name of Apophis that lived back in the time we were in kept a firm enough control upon these unstable magics and used deadly spells to enact horrible deeds and one was aimed right at us since we both were a Pharaoh and lord of the great kingdom back then.

"I had control upon my own magic, the Shadow Magic and the same went for Aqua though his was a sliver weaker than my own and we both battle Apophis but when the magics at a strong magnitude clashed together, it caused a spreading effect that not only affected us but Apophis as well.

"It killed him since the Black Magics were connected to him but after the smoke cleared, we became what many people feared nowadays...we became children of the Black Magics and gained their power that twined with the natural power of our use of Shadow Magic." he explained. "So you're saying...when the Black Magics became part of you...it caused you both to be reborn as demons?" he questioned.

He nodded. "Yes. It took us a while to be used to controlling the Black Magics but compared to Apophis and many other who tried to control them, it was easy for us. We don't know why as of yet but we have used the Black Magics to our advantage to strive for so many millennia. But the happenings in our past connects to you as well." Yugi looked surprised at this and nodded more for him to continue.

"As it finally reached this time, the Black Magics within us were more active, as if something was near. We didn't know what it was until we learned more of the history of the Black Magics and it told us of the White Magics, the only thing able to suppress the deadly nature of the Black Magics.

"Just like dark and light, yami and hikari, the Black Magics strive on the gentle comfort of the White Magics and since there was not one that contained the White Magics, the power of the Black Magics was still a deadly force even with our powerful control over them. But like I mentioned before, they were active and that was because it sensed the presence of White Magics somewhere in the world.

"We couldn't pinpoint the location but the activity of the Black Magics told us when we were near or far. When Motaro was able to locate us and invite us to this tournament, we came in hopes to find the one containing the White Magics since this tournament was one of death so one should be able to have the power of the White Magics in order to heal and resurrect those that died. You, Yugi, are the one that contains the White Magics."

"Me? But how? Wouldn't I have know if I was able to control the White Magics, especially with how powerful they are?" Yugi asked. "They are still dormant within you. You must find a way to activate their power and both me and Aqua will help as much as we can." Yami spoke, stroking Yugi's head softly. Yugi snuggled closer into Yami's embrace, eyes half close in content. "I still don't believe I never knew of this kind of magic. But now that I think about it, Raiden released the powers that were hidden before so why didn't it work to release the White Magics?"

"Even for a god, the White and Black Magics are much more powerful so his spell may not have worked to awaken them. Only the same magics of the same level could possibly awaken them and I'm guessing that only the influence of the Black Magics will awaken the White Magics still sealed within you." Yami explained and he nodded. "It's still all too much for me but I understand a lot now since that's what probably brought you two to find interest in me." Yugi whispered, lowering his eyes. "I'm not all that special."

"Don't think that, Yugi. You are special. Special in my eyes. It wasn't the White Magics you contained that attracted me and Aqua but you as yourself." Yami took the time to pull Yugi up farther, moving so that his back rest against the headboard and Yugi laid his head against Yami's chest. Yami ran his hands up Yugi's arms lightly before the trailed down his chest in a soft caress. Yugi shifted, mewling softly, eyes closed completely. "Oh...Yami...I wanted to ask you something." he whispered. "And what would that be, my sweet little tenshi?"

"The diamonds in the tapestries, are they really pure diamond?" he questioned. "Yes, they are. You, my sweet warrior, are like a diamond, pure and unblemished. Your are like a rare treasure that cannot be found by any other. Hair the color of goldenrod, ruby and obsidian all turned to the softest silken strands that I could never stop running my fingers through, skin as beautiful as a white lily in the moonlight, eyes as bright as amethysts and a voice like the song of a nightingale, so sweet and so beautiful. You are a rarity that anyone who passes you by is naught but a fool to not see how beautiful you are." he whispered, hands continuing their trail.

Yugi mewled again, hands fisting the blanket beneath him. His hands then reached the hem of his shirt and slipped underneath, nails lengthening slightly and leaving and tingling trail along his skin as the skated across trembling skin. Yami continued the actions, eyes darkened to a wine red.

He then pulled his hands back, much to the disappointment of Yugi and placed them upon his shoulders, gently kneading and started to lull him to sleep. Once Yugi's soft breathing was heard, Yami smiled before waving a hand and Yugi's clothing switched into that of a white silk pajama set. Bringing out one of his wings, he gently encased Yugi under the appendage and wrapped his arms around Yugi's waist before he too fell asleep.

_'Sheeva and Motaro won't notice I'm gone and if they try to search for me, I'm sure that Aqua will cover for me.'_ he thought before he succumbed to the embrace of sleep.

It was a while later before a knock was heard. "Yugi? Yugi, are you in there still?" Someone called and the door opened to reveal Diamond. "Yugi?" She quietly walked over to the bed, already in awe at the different changes in his room compared to before.

She parted the drapes and almost gasped as she saw Yami there but then saw Yugi in his arms, a smile upon his face as he slept and smiled. _'Maybe some of the Dark warriors aren't as bad as we think. At least him and Aqua.'_ she thought, petting Yugi's hair lightly before leaving the room silently.

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During some of the battles, no one noticed they were being watched by Para and Dox. They examined each intently before looking to one another. "I say we aim for the Egyptian boy. He looks like the strongest of them all." Para spoke. "I agree with you. We'll start the assassination tonight." Dox replied before they left as silently as they appeared.

After the battles were done for the day and everyone from both teams were asleep, Para and Dox stood in the hall. "Ok, so we swiftly kill the Egyptian boy, correct?" Para questioned and Dox nodded. "Yes, only him. We can't afford to wake anyone else by aiming for more than one. We'll take them out one by one until we know that the job is completed. We shouldn't have to worry about the ones called Sonya, Kabal and Jax. Mainly the newest fighters that Sheeva told us about."

They were both unaware that Marik heard the entire thing and hissed, ready to leap out and kill them with one fell swoop but saw they were already gone. He snarled angrily before he too left, knowing he will have to warn Malik before they get there.

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Malik shifted in bed, thinking he heard something but dismissed it. The sound came again and he pried open his eyes sleepily as he looked around his room and then saw a shadowed figure looking at him. His eyes flew opened and he quickly reached for his weapon but his arm was pinned down to the bed and he looked up into the dark lavender eyes of Marik. "What are you doing here? I had enough of seeing you." he growled. "Normally, I would be very happy to have you like this but I'm not here for that. I'm here to warn you." Marik said.

"Warn me about what? The only thing I worry about is dealing with you."

"Well this time you need to believe me."

Malik glared up at him. "Why should I? After everything you put me through, I have no reason to trust you one bit. Now get off me!" Malik hissed as he tried to free his arm from Marik's grip. "Not until you believe me!" Marik growled, trying to halt his struggling but was soon flipped off of the teen and Malik sat up, glaring down at him.

He never saw the glint of the knife but Marik did. "Marik, I want you out...Hey! What was that for?" he hissed as he was lying back on the bed, Marik on top of him. "That." he whispered, pointing up to the knife impaled into the wall.

Color drained from his face and he looked to Marik. "You weren't lying for once." Marik nodded as he got back up and glared into the shadows. "Come out if you value your lives." he hissed.

"We missed, brother." Para whispered.

"I know but I heard when it comes to him, we best follow his words. He is a deadly being that shouldn't have his anger tampered with." Dox whispered back before they both came out from the shadows. "Who hired you?" Marik demanded. "That is nothing you should know about." Para flinched and looked towards Dox. "I thought you said we shouldn't anger him?" he whispered.

"Anger or not, we can't let him figure out who hired us to do this job or else this tournament will end after Sheeva and Motaro is dead and they're the only ones here making sure the Dark warriors are falling into the hands of the Earth warriors." he spoke to him before looking to the angry Marik.

"Besides, what are you doing here? I heard specifically from Sheeva that not one warrior of the dark shouldn't leave the temple unless its for battle." Marik snarled angrily. "I'm here to protect the one I love." Malik was appalled and looked up to him. _'He can't possibly mean that? After all I've been through that involved him, there's no way.'_

"Love? Hah! Love is something you can never find in such a tournament like this. Soon, you'll have to go against loved ones and its kill or be killed." Dox said. "So just move out the way and we'll deal with him." Marik snarled again. "I've got a better idea. We'll have a tag team death match, you two against Malik and I. If we win, your death is assured either way but if you can at least get me off the stage or kill me, then your foul deed will be done. But I will tell you this, if you do manage to kill him, reaching the others won't be easy, especially Yugi." Marik said and they nodded in agreement.

"Wait! I never agreed to this! I'm not fighting in no sudden death match!" Malik growled, looking to him. "You will if you want to still live and your friends do the same." Marik mumbled and Malik moaned in anger. "Fine. All three of you get out my room and head to the portal. I'll be there." he growled and they all left making their way towards the portal.

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It was a few minutes but Malik soon arrived and stood beside Marik although as far away from him as possible without looking like he was going to run off. "Alright, the stage will be Quan-Chi's Palace." he said as the portal opened up to reveal the stage and they all walked in through the portal and stood on opposite sides of the field.

Malik glared towards Marik, bringing out his weapon and Marik did the same. _'I hate the idea of fighting alongside him but to keep my friends safe, whether someone is there to protect them or not, I have to.'_ Malik thought before they were given the signal and they both charged in with their attacks.

Weapons clashed, the brothers putting up a good fight against them but Marik focused more upon finishing Dox since he was pissed that the fool thought that he couldn't win and with a sweep, he was knocked off the stage and into the deadly lasers below. A slicing sound was heard along with his shout before everything went silent after the plop of mutilated flesh into the pool of blood below. "Brother!" Para cried as he ran over to the edge and saw nothing remaining of his brother. He growled as he stood back up and glared at them.

"You will pay for this."

"Not as much as you will for daring to try and kill Malik." Marik snarled. Para made his move, now seemingly quicker and while parrying blows from him, it was almost harder even for Marik to hit him. "Marik? You have control over the shadows! Do something!" Malik shouted towards him. "I was planning to use them as a last resort if we actually have problems fighting these two. Didn't think I would need them." he murmured as the shadows started to gather around him but his eyes widened as he felt a blow to the back of his neck and he fell to the ground.

"Marik!" Malik called as he watched Para lift the wooden staff and looked to him. "Now, time to deal with you." he whispered before running towards him again. Blow after blow, Malik was hit, just barely blocking any fatal blows.

After a few moments, Malik stumbled back tiredly and Para smirked. "An eye for a eye." He said before jumping forward, giving one good swing towards him and he flew back until he fell off the side but was able to grab hold of the ledge to the stage. He tried to get back up but was already too weakened to do just that, just having barely enough strength to hold on.

Para smirked as he walked over to where he was and stepped on his hand, causing a whimper to fall from his lips. "It was too bad you couldn't beat us both but maybe we should've mentioned that went one of us dies, the other become twice as strong." Para spoke as he put more pressure on his hand, trying to make him release his grip upon the side.

Marik soon shook the daze off and looked to where Para stood but so sign of Malik. "No. Malik!" he called and Malik heard him from where he was. "Marik, help me!" he said before crying out again as more pressure was placed onto his hand and he couldn't hold on any longer.

His fingers slipped and he screamed as he fell but then a thick, black claw came and took hold of him before he could make contact with the deadly lasers and pulled him back up. Marik placed him gently upon the ground before snarling in rising anger as he looked to Para whose shirt was fisted in his other hand.

"You will pay for this. You almost killed him and I won't give mercy to you." he hissed as he tossed him to the other side of the field before unleashing the wrath of his anger. Shadows whipped out, leaving gashes and lacerations upon Para's flesh and no matter how much he tried to his the oncoming wave, his wooden staff was useless, some of it being sliced down to nothing but a sliver of wood.

After the shadows did their work, Marik's hand turned into deadly shadows claws, reaching out and grabbing hold of him tightly. "This is where it ends and I promise you, whoever hired you to try and assassinate him will see this anger as well." he whispered before tossing him forcefully down towards the lasers under the platform, the lasers slicing through skin and bone like butter, leaving his remains to gather into the pool of blood below them.

Malik watched the entire thing and seeing that anger focused solely on his opponent just by him being near death, his mind started to process that maybe Marik did like him, even if it mean tearing someone to shreds just to keep him safe for another day.

He yelped as a shadow claw grabbed hold of him and Marik created a portal back outside and left out of the arena, heading back with Malik tucked away in the large and unusually warm claws that has taken countless lives. Marik didn't say a word once he came back into Malik's room, just placed him into bed, healed the bruises he gotten and was ready to leave.

"Wait, Marik." Malik called softly and the other turned to him. Malik rubbed his arms lightly, lowering his head slightly. "Thanks for helping me and all from all this. Maybe you're not as bad as I thought you were." He looked back up to see Marik now standing beside his bed, a smile upon his face.

"Hey, I protect the ones I love with my life and I'm not letting no one kill you as long as I'm still here. Not even Sheeva and Motaro can prevent me from doing so either." he said before placing a hand under Malik's chin and leaned down to softly kiss his lips before letting him go and leaving. Malik touched his lips fondly as he watched him go before smiling softly and went back to sleep, his whole world turned around by that one simple gesture.

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Zypher: And there you go, the beginnings of Malik and Marik's relationship is starting to get underway. Hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you all later. And also the idea of the Black and White Magics doesn't belong to me, it came from a story I read before and Red Dragon of Egypt gave me the idea to use them in expression to Yami, Yugi and Aqua.


	17. Near Death and Tanya's Discovery

Zypher: Welcome back to another chapter to Challenge of the Kombat. yes, I am writing chapters to this story a lot now but I say once you get started with the relationships, everything is made easier. Anywho, thanks as always for your wonderful comments and I hope you will enjoy this chapter.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 16

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Another day went by and more battles were fought. Again, there wasn't no serious injuries to either team nor any other fatalities and this not only made Sheeva peeved at the lack of deaths towards the Earth Warriors but also made Shao Khan angry. But today, all that will change. Early in the day, just before the battles, Motaro came back and they all looked up when he came into the sitting room. "Well looks who's back? If it isn't Horn boy. Where have you been?" Bakura mused as he looked to him with a smirk.

Motaro glared at him before stepping to the front of the room. "If you must know, I have been out searching for new warriors to recruit to our side. As you can see, we are thinning out and the warriors of the Earth has yet to lose one. Shao Khan isn't happy with our progress to free him from the Dimensional Gate so he has ordered one of us to go and find new fighters." he explained.

"And seeing you back must mean you have found some, correct?" Seto spoke mockingly. "Yes, I have." he retorted, looking towards him before waving towards the doorway and the seven new warriors walked into the room.

"Meet Tanya, Goro, Reptile, Mileena, Kira, Kobra and Baraka. They will be your new allies and I hope you will treat them well." Motaro finished. Some murmured their greeting while others didn't care. "Now, since its still early and no battles will start for a while, I suggest you all go and train and learn more about our new allies." Sheeva spoke and they nodded, Bakura and Marik grumbling to themselves as they walked out along with the others to the training field.

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Once the battles were underway again, Sheeva and Motaro decided to send in the new fighters to fight in the next few battles. Hearing this, especially in the concept that it was Malik, Diamond and Jou fighting in the first three battles, Marik, Crimson and Seto did their best to tell them to not dare harm them but with Kobra and Kira, they didn't bother with the threats and went into battle. Seeing as it wasn't going to be easy to keep the new fighters from hurting those they cared for, once they left for their battles, Marik and Crimson kept a close eye on them to make sure they weren't wounded as badly.

After those battles, Kira and Kobra were the ones to leave unscathed or at least with minor wounds while Diamond and Malik took heavier damage. Sheeva and Motaro were pleased but Marik and Crimson didn't share their enjoyment. "These new allies are a pain already and knowing Sheeva and Motaro, they won't care what happens as long as what needs to be done is done." Marik hissed.

"Then we'll have to do this in our own way. Some may hate us and with how many times Yami or Aqua visits the Earth temple to see their little love interest, I'm sure they are the only ones accepted by them now. As for us, we need to gain their trust." Crimson spoke and he nodded.

"I've gain little trust in Malik, not his full trust, but enough so that he would at least listen to me when I need to tell him something important."

"And I still need to meet my little princess on a friendly note so I can have her trust me as well. I did start out on the wrong foot when I met her the first time but it was fun though to see her reaction. So we need to start now before anything worse could happen." After this little chat, they both left to their separate rooms as Tanya was called in for a battle with Jou. Seto snarled in anger, glaring towards Tanya as she left the room with Motaro before he brought up to portal that will let them watch the battle.

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They met at the portal and while Raiden was making the decision for the stage, Jou took a glance at Tanya. _'After seeing the last two battles, who knows how bad she could be. I just hope we don't fight on a stage that could get us permanently killed or else I won't be living to see the rest of my life although I think Seto would help me before that happens.' _he thought as the stage was chosen to be the Wu Shi Academy and they left to head into the portal, ready to battle. Tanya smirked as she brought out her Tonfa.

"Hope you won't go easy on me because I'm a girl, little man." she said.

Jou snorted as he brought out his staff. "You wish. After seeing that girl, Kira, fight, why should I go easy on you?" he said as they were given the signal and charged into battle, weapons clashing.

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Both teams watched the battle intently, Seto gripping the cushion beneath him with tightened claws as she watch Tanya block most of his attacks and wound him along the way. _'Come on, Jou. I know you can win.'_ he thought. "Heh, this boy seemed to be a lot tougher before we gained these new fighters and now, he looks weak enough to be called pathetic." Siegfried spoke and Seto's eyes narrowed. "Hold your tongue or I'll rip it out your mouth." he hissed. Siegfried only sneered towards him before going back to watch the battle.

Seto did as well and seeing Jou resort to his animality made him smile. _'Hopefully he has the advantage now.'_

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Tanya sneered as she watched Jou speed past her again. "You little brat! Hold still so I can finish this battle!" she said as she resorted to using her fireballs, the purple flames licking at Jou's fur but not able to singe him. /You wish! I'm gonna win this battle./ he said as he started for her again and dodged the fireballs coming his way as he ran.

She smirked as she watched him come near before whispering a spell and she became invisible, causing Jou to halt his charge. /Great. Where did she go?/ he wondered as he looked around, ears alert for any sign of her presence.

He hissed as he was hit from the side by a fireball and before he could retaliate, another came his way. He tried to follow the path of the fireballs to Tanya but she moved quickly enough even for him to catch up with her. Seeing that it was hopeless, especially to block her attacks, he shifted back into himself and started blocking fireballs with his staff. He was unaware that she was in front of him now and with a mighty Split Kick, he was down for the first round. She reappeared and smirked. "Had enough yet?"

Wiping away the blood from his mouth, he returned the smirk. "Not on your life." He stood back up and looked to her, waiting for the next signal. As they were given the signal for the second round, Tanya moved around him in a calm pace. "You know, everything I did in the last round was only a test to see how strong you were. Now it's time to kick it up a little." she spoke, bringing out her Tonfa again and disappeared once more. Jou growled as she disappeared again. "Little cheater." he whispered as he prepared for her attacks.

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As quickly as he said that, the blows came and he was unable to shield himself from most of the attacks and was out for the second round. Seto snarled as he stood and left the room once Tanya was declared the winner and when he was far enough so that no one would notice him, he made a portal to the temple and was about to walk through when he heard someone come up behind him.

"And were are you about to go, Seto?" Ruby questioned. "I'm going to see Jou and make sure he's alright." he said. "Mind if I come? I need to get away from here for a while." Seto nodded and they both left into the portal and made their way to the Earth temple.

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Jou winced as he was brought in with help from Raiden and both Diamond and Keara tended to his wounds before sending him up to his room. "Man, that dirty little sneak...I oughta kill her for that. I was barely able to catch her since there was some flaw to her invisibility technique but I was only able to get a glance of where she was before she moved somewhere else." Jou mumbled before they door opened and he looked up to see Kaiser walk in. "Feeling alright, bro?" he asked as he closed the door behind him and moved to sit on the bed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Or at least about as fine as I will get. Can't believe that little sneak could beat me." Jou said, looking to Kaiser before feeling the presence of another and turned to see a portal open up. Kaiser saw this as well and started to bring out his weapon but Jou held a hand up. "It's alright. You can trust him." Jou spoke and Kaiser looked to him in confusion as Seto and Ruby stepped out of the portal. "Jou, are you going to be ok?" Seto asked as he moved over to the bed and placed a hand over his. He nodded and Seto smiled, rubbing a thumb over the back of his hand.

Kaiser watched the exchange with more confusion before speaking out. "Ok Jou, you have a lot of explaining to do. Why is this guy here when he's clearly a Dark warrior, why does he look at you so lovingly and who's he?" he started, pointing over to Ruby who watched him quietly. Jou started to explain how he and Seto met and what happen after realizing he was a Dark warrior, his relationship which raised a eyebrow from Kaiser. "And as for him, I don't know. This is the first time I've seen him except for in that one battle with Topaz. I'm just about as clueless as you are." Jou finished.

"He's Ruby. He's somewhat like my brother although we're not completely related. He's perfectly fine to be around." Seto explained. Kaiser still looked to him warily and Jou saw the look. "Come on, Kaiser. He won't bite. Get to know him a little." Jou said as Seto started to tend to some of the wounds that weren't completely healed with his dragon magic.

Ruby walked over and sat next to him, starting up a small conversation with Kaiser who was determined to not speak much but soon started to get used to his presence and started talking back more and more, getting a smile from Ruby.

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The next battle was determined and Baraka was up against Ryou. Bakura glared towards him before getting up and followed without anyone noticing his leave. Before Baraka could leave out the door behind Motaro, Bakura grabbed him and slammed him up against the wall. "I will warn you now and I don't care if you listen for it will be your life afterwards if he gets killed by you. Hurt him or kill him and it will be my deepest pleasure to make the team be short one warrior." he hissed.

Baraka snarled in anger and removed Bakura's hands from his shirt. "I will do what I please and you won't be able to stop me." he spoke in a hissing voice. "Then you will regret it." Bakura growled before turning away and leaving Baraka to follow Motaro once more.

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As the battle started, Bakura watched intently and angrily as Baraka didn't waste no time in fighting Ryou. He blocked most of his attacks but once he brought out the blades hidden within his arms, it got worse from there. Ryou still kept up the fight but gashes started appearing with each failed guard and was soon knocked back, giving the round to Baraka. Ryou hissed in pain as blood dripped from his wounds but he stood back up, determined to win. "Why do you still fight? You are weak now. Admit defeat and you can leave with your life." Baraka hissed.

"Never." Ryou spoke as the next round was initiated and he jumped into battle, this time able to hit Baraka with some of his attacks but not all. The round continued with fervor, each not backing down but a move that scared both the Earth warriors and Bakura was when Ryou was stabbed right through the chest, missing the heart. Baraka grinned as much as the protruding sharp teeth of his Tartakan heritage would let him as he lifted Ryou up into the air.

Ryou coughed up blood as he weakly struggled and groaned as he was tossed aside to hit the floor and the bloodied blade slipped back into his arm. "You're lucky I missed. I could've killed you if I wish it but I think bleeding to death will be slow and painful enough for you." Baraka spoke, laughing as the portal appeared and he walked out and Raiden quickly ran in to pick him up and transport back to the temple in a flash of lightning.

In the Dark temple, Crimson, Aqua and Toben were trying to hold down the very pissed off Bakura who was nearly foaming at the mouth at the major wound caused by Baraka. When said person came back into the temple, a smug look on his face, he nearly lost it. "Let me at him! Let me at him!" he roared as he tried to break free from the three people holding him down.

"Don't tell me you care for that lowly earth warrior?" Baraka questioned as he watched Bakura's struggles. "If I were you, I wouldn't be saying much. You have only been here for not even a day and you don't need to know more about us unless we tell you more. If you want to value what life you have, I suggest you move on." Yami said, looking to him with darkened cerise eyes.

Baraka only snorted and left the room and once he was out of range, they let Bakura go but all he did was create a portal and left before Motaro could spot him leaving.

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Once Ryou was brought back, Keara quickly sealed the deadly wound before Diamond took him upstairs to heal and wrap the other wounds. "Man, remind me to watch myself if I ever go against that guy." Malik spoke, feeling really bad to see Ryou go through such a battle that could've gotten him killed. Yugi gripped his hands tightly, remembering what Yami told him the night before.

_'And I wish that they will be able to unlock the White Magics soon. With these new warriors, we may just lose someone and I don't want to sit out when I can help in someway.'_

Up in Ryou's room, Diamond wrapped Ryou's wounds after healing them to a light cut before leaving him to rest. Once she was gone, dark brown eyes opened from the shadows and Bakura slipped out from his hiding spot and walked over to Ryou's bedside. Ryou moaned in his slumber before opening his eyes and saw Bakura standing not far from him. He started to sit up but then winced and fell back. "Why are you here?" he hissed, glaring at him. "I'm not here to fight you or anything of the like. I'm here because I was worried about you." he whispered.

"Like your dark heart would worry for someone." Ryou spoke as he turned on his side, wincing again and Bakura sighed as he walked to the other side and looked down to him. "You may think I have a dark heart and the personality that would make a serial killer proud but I still worry for you and you only. If I could, I would rip off Baraka's head for almost killing you. I don't want you to die, Ryou. You're the only person that I could ever trust and care for like this." Ryou took a glance up at Bakura and was actually surprised to see sincerity within the dark depths of Bakura's eyes.

"You really mean it. I thought all those times when you told me those things when you fought against me that you was just trying to lower my guard and kill me afterwards." Ryou spoke. "No, I fought to train you and prepare for fights like this." Bakura reached down and ran a hand through his hair lightly and Ryou started to blush lightly.

"I know you may not like me the way I like you but I will do everything in my power to keep you safe." he whispered, moving his hand away and Ryou frowned lightly, missing the contact then saw Bakura creating another portal, ready to head back.

"Wait! Will I ever see you again?" Ryou called and Bakura turned back to him, smiling softly. "I will to check up on you. Baraka will pay for what he did but it will have to wait." Bakura spoke before leaving, the portal closing behind him. Ryou watched as he left before he sighed. "Maybe I do like him. Even after what he put me through in the past, I can help but feel something for him but he still has a long way to go before I can completely trust him, especially with my heart." Ryou whispered before turning onto his back once more and went to get some sleep.

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After a few more battles, this time minor injuries only being made since these battles didn't contain any of the new fighters, it was soon night time and everyone ate before soon heading off to bed. Yugi sat in bed, talking with Dae Raca until he started to feel tired. /You should get to bed now. You are tired./ Dae Raca spoke and Yugi nodded as he moved to lie down in bed, Dae Raca jumping up to lie down at the end before they both headed to sleep, the fluorescence moon glowing upon the night sky ceiling.

It was only a few hours later that Yugi started to have a dream, a small smile on his face as the dream played out.

-Dream-

It was a moonlit night, the moon above a bright circle in the sky. Below, a forest filled with glowing trees and a shimmering lake was seen. In this wondrous dream world, Yugi was skating along the lake, Yami's arms wrapped around him as they glided along the glimmering surface of the lake. "This is such a beautiful place, Yami. I'm so glad you brought me here." Yugi whispered, looking up into warm cerise eyes glowing with love.

"Of course, anything with an ethereal brilliance like this should be shown to you. This place is peaceful and glows with a supernal feeling that will put you at ease and take your mind away from the bloodshed and danger of the tournament. You and I both need to get away from everything we had to deal with these past few weeks."

"Yeah, we both needed this and again, I'm happy that not only you found this place but brought me here to see it and remember it for life." Yugi murmured and Yami nodded as the continued to dance upon the surface of the clear lake.

-End Dream-

When Yugi woke up the next morning, the dream was still fresh in his mind and as he got up and walk over to the window to look up to the sunny day, he hoped that soon, his dream will come true.

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As soon as he got dressed, he headed downstairs to eat breakfast with the others before they headed into the sitting room to see what the next battles will be. "Today, the first battle will be Jax against Reptile then Yugi against Mileena." Raiden spoke and they nodded. Jax got up and left out with Raiden before everyone started to taking to one another until the battle starts.

"It makes you wonder, how come half the time, the battles are already chosen and half the time, Raiden takes one of us out to the portal and announces who we fight with there?" Kaiser questioned. "Don't know. It will be confusing to think about it so we best not worry about it." Diamond replied.

Soon, the battle with Jax and Reptile started, some of them surprised to see the humanoid lizard warrior as part of their fighting team. The battle commenced, either not backing down and soon, Jax was able to win, gaining another victory for the Earth. A few minutes later, Raiden can back and they praised Jax for his win before Yugi got up to meet with his opponent. "You can do it, Yugi. Win this for us too." Keara spoke and he nodded as he left out with Raiden.

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Yami snorted as he watched Mileena leave with Motaro and Aqua looked over to him. "Do you think Yugi will have trouble defeating her?" he asked. "I don't know but let's hope he will win." Yami whispered, having a feeling there was more under that veil than Mileena would reveal.

As they came to the portal, Mileena looked down to Yugi before laughing. "I have to fight this little twerp? This will be an easy two win match." she said, a hissing undertone in her voice as she spoke. "I may be small but I'm stronger than you think." Yugi growled as Raiden told then of the stage they will be battling on before opening the portal and they stepped in. Mileena brought out her sais and Yugi his Light Sword and once they were given the signal, they fought inside the old pyramid known as the Lost Tomb.

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Both sides again watched the battle with rapt attention, glad to see Yugi getting the upper hand against Mileena but soon her speed started to become a hindrance as she now started dodging most of Yugi's attacks and countered with her own, giving him bloody gashes and minor scratches. With a good kick that knocked the wind from Yugi and causing him to writhe slightly upon the floor ended the first round.

"I told you, I'm much more superior in strength than you." she said, laughing again and Yugi growled as he stood up, blood dripping down his arms and face but still held resolution to win this fight. "Let's just see how long you'll be feeling superior." he spoke as they were given the signal to start the next battle and Yugi ran in to start.

Mileena stood her ground, waiting for him to come but wasn't expecting the bright flash of light from his blade and hissed as she was blinded momentarily but that gave Yugi enough time to get his own share of attacks in and jumped back once Mileena was able to get her vision back. "Oh, you'll pay for that." she hissed as she twirled her sais in her hands before tossing them towards Yugi.

They came at him so quickly, he wasn't able to dodge or block the weapons with his sword and cried out as both sais embedded deep into his thighs, blood soaking his pant legs. With a Rolling Thunder attack, she knocked Yugi down onto the floor and he groaned as he struggled to get up, reaching down shakily to try and remove the sais from his thighs.

She stood back up from her curled up position and sauntered over to Yugi and placed a foot down onto his chest. "You were saying?" she whispered as she grounded the heel of her boot into his chest, causing him to cry out again. She smirked underneath the veil as she removed her foot from his chest and placed it onto his arm that held his sword.

"You should know, a cute little kid like you shouldn't be in a tournament like this. But all things must come to a end and for you, this will be the end of your fighting days for quite a while." she said as she raised her foot.

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Like a string that has snapped from too much force, Yami quickly stood and left the room, Aqua following behind him as he created a portal leading directly to the field and as Mileena was declared the winner and stepped out from the portal, they came in and ran over to Yugi. Yami quickly picked up Yugi, his sword clattering the ground as it dropped from his lifeless hand, his arm now in a twisted angle.

Tears coursed down Yugi's face, the blood mixing with the tears as he tried to move his broken arm. "Yugi, stay still. You are badly hurt and we're going to take you back to the temple with us to heal you." Yami whispered, the joint of his wings that now appeared caressing his forehead that dripped with perspiration and spots of blood.

Aqua, after picking up Yugi's sword, was about to create a portal to take them back to the hidden room but felt a strong energy wave behind them. He turned to see Raiden standing there, white eyes watching them calmly. "Raiden." he whispered and he nodded his greeting.

"Yugi has been badly injured and his friends will worry immensely about his health but seeing as you care more for his well-being than life itself, I will let you two care and watch over him until he is healed enough to come back without too much problems. But I warn you now, do not let him be seen in your temple. If Sheeva and Motaro learns he is there, they won't hesitate to kill him while he's weak." Raiden spoke as he looked down to Yugi.

"I know of the White Magics. Very little but I know they will rage out of control if he's to die." Yami nodded, holding Yugi firmly. "We both know that as well and with any sense of danger, we will transport him back to his room before anyone other than those that have found someone to love from your side could see him there and tell Sheeva or Motaro."

Raiden nodded once more. "I place his life and my trust in your hands." Raiden spoke before a flash of lightning appeared and he was gone. Aqua quickly made the portal and they both walked in, appearing in their shared room and Yami placed Yugi onto the bed before calling his demon magic and started to heal Yugi's wounds. Aqua walked over to the bed and placed a hand over the joint where his arm was broken and the bones started to mend back together.

Once they were healed enough to only leave a slight fracture, he waved his hand over Yugi's arm and a cast encased his arm. Once the wounds were healed enough to a dull scratch, some being wrapped, Yami wiped away the sweat from his brow and sat down upon the bed. Yugi looked over to him, smiling softly.

"Arigatou for helping me, Yami. You both do so much for me." he whispered. "It's because we love you. As long as we still have life, we will put yours ahead of ours." Yami said. Aqua ran a hand through his hair, caressing his forehead lightly. "Now get some sleep. You need to regain your energy and while you're here, we will start working on waking your White Magics."

Yugi nodded before closing his eyes and soon falling asleep.

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As the days went by, battles commenced as usual, wins being won by both sides and although Yugi's friends worried about where he was this time, Raiden told them that he was in safe hands like before and Keara knew that Yugi being with whoever it was may just be the one to free his White Magics. Diamond may not have known about Yugi containing the White Magics but remembering seeing Yami that day made her know that Yugi was in safe and capable hands.

Unnoticed to everyone, including Sheeva and Motaro, Yami and Aqua stayed with Yugi day and night, never leaving out the room unless it was to get something from the kitchen. No one didn't bother them but they were curious. At least Tanya, Kira, Siegfried and Dartz were but none didn't bother to check on them.

Yugi was awake now, thin fingers twirled around the lithe body of a tiny, greyish, serpentine dragon with a pair of translucent blue wings. The little dragon cooed, emerald eyes looking to him before a tiny tongue licked at his fingertips, making Yugi laugh softly as the little dragon uncurled itself from his fingers and flitted of to rest upon his head.

The door opened and Aqua walked in, smiling down to him. "Are you feeling a little better, koi?" he asked as he walked over to the bedside. "I'm feeling a little better but not good enough to head back to the Earth temple just yet." Yugi said, looking to Aqua with a bright smile. He smiled back before he leaned down to kiss his forehead. "How about I set up a nice warm bath for you and fix some favored delicacies that me and Yami like."

"That sounds wonderful." Yugi agreed and Aqua nodded before he left through the door leading to the adjoined bathroom. The little dragon cooed again and Yugi raised his uninjured arm up to pet the tiny dragon's head. A few minutes went by before Aqua walked back in and picked up Yugi, taking him into the bathroom where the bath awaited. He removed Yugi's clothing gently, watching the cast before letting Yugi slip into the warm water, black mist wrapped around his cast and bandages to prevent them from getting wet.

The Egyptian sandalwood fragrance wafted through the room like a gentle mist and Yugi relaxed in the calming scent. Quietly, Aqua picked up a cloth and dipping it into the scented waters, he started to clean up Yugi with gentle strokes along the fragile lily white skin. Yugi closed his eyes in content. Once that was done, he motioned to the tiny dragon and the dragon fluttered up, sitting among Aqua's spines as Aqua started to wash Yugi's hair, gentle fingers kneading through the soft strands lightly.

After his hair was washed and rinsed out, Aqua stood and left Yugi to relax in the water as he went to fix the food for Yugi. As he did that task, Yugi relished the warmth of the water until it started to get cold and he opened his eyes, ready to climb out the bath but knew he couldn't with the use of one arm.

"Aqua? I need a little help." Yugi called and Aqua walked in. "Done?" Yugi nodded and Aqua reached down to lift him out the bath before wrapping him a towel. "Come, lunch awaits you." he said as he led Yugi out the bathroom and to the bed. He helped Yugi dry off before donning him in a soft cotton robe and lied him down on the bed before leaving his side to fetch the tray.

"Here you go, koi." he whispered as he placed the tray in front of him that was filled with different dishes of Egyptian cuisine. He explained each one, hand feeding him a piece of each and Yugi enjoyed each one. "This is good. Thanks for fixing this for me." Yugi said as Aqua fed him the last bite of the mango fruit cup before placing the cup back onto the tray and took it over to the little kitchenette they placed into the room just for this reason. "Anything for you, Yugi." he spoke as he walked over to the bed and sat down next to Yugi.

The tiny dragon left from his spines and rested back into Yugi's hair, cooing softly. Yugi smiled up to the dragon before looking over to Aqua. "Aqua, where's Yami?" he asked. "He was called in to fight in a battle with Kaiser. He promised to let him win and not overpower him." Aqua explained and he nodded. "I'm happy that at least I know if my friends go against you or Yami, they will be able to win." Yugi said, smiling up to him.

"But of course. We couldn't dare to harm your friends or else we may not be together like we are now. I know that the new fighters we gotten along with Siegfried and Dartz may think we are fraternizing with the enemy but we do not care. As long as we can be with you, whether it be only in this tournament or if we can find you wherever you live, then we're happy. We don't take satisfaction by causing pain unless its to someone we hate."

Yugi smiled even more as he raised his uninjured arm and took hold of Aqua's head, bringing him down to kiss his cheek lightly. They stayed in bed a little while longer until Yugi start nodding off and Aqua nuzzled him lightly before he too went to sleep.

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Another week went by and Yugi's arm was healing nicely and the other wounds were only pale scars on his skin. As promised, with their presence around Yugi all the time, his White Magics started to unearth from their dormant state and Yugi started to feel stronger as the White Magics continued their awakening process. But all things come to an end soon enough and it happened just now.

Tanya was walking by their room when she heard Yugi talking with Yami but didn't recognize the other voice as Aqua's. Curious, she tested the knob to see if the door was open but it was locked so she decided to try a sneaky tactic and knocked upon the door before going invisible.

The door was unlocked and opened and Yami poked his head out, looking around and invisible tendrils of his power slipping out to sense for another presence in the hall. Tanya, staying perfectly still but not noting the tendrils that were in the hall, took this time to look into the room and gasped when she saw Yugi lying on the bed, amethyst eyes shining with confusion as he looked towards the door as well. She quickly ran off, alerting the tendrils and Yami cursed.

"Is something wrong, Yami?" Yugi asked as he shut the door and locked it again. "Someone was out there and they must've saw you in here." Yami explained as he walked over to the bed and picked up Yugi. "But I didn't see no one." Yugi spoke, wrapping one arm around Yami's neck while his arm, still in a cast, rested across his chest.

"Me neither but my power, whether it be my demon magic or the Black Magics, can pick up any traces of another, even when they're invisible and so far, the only two people I know that could go invisible is Tanya and Reptile so it must've been one of them." he explained as he created a portal leading to Yugi's room upon the floor and knelt down.

"Aqua or I will see you again later. Don't know when since whoever saw you in here will definitely tell Sheeva or Motaro so it may be a while before we can but you just continue to get some rest and take the little dragon with you just in case. Send him back once every week if you are concerned about us if we can't visit you." Yami said.

"But how will he get back? The teammates that aren't trustworthy to you or Aqua will become suspicious if he's found coming back and leaving every week." Yugi spoke softly and gasped when he heard pounding on the door and Sheeva's voice being heard.

"What's this about an Earth warrior being here? Open this door, Yami or I'll smash it down!"

He snarled in anger before ducking into the portal that hovered above Yugi's bed in his room and placed him down onto the bed, the dragon nestled in his hair and cooing softly as he nuzzled Yugi's cheek. "He can travel through the shadows like us so he can come into our room without being noticed. I have to go so you keep resting and with the acquired White Magic that you've gotten so far will help mend to rest of your arm so you should be able to remove the cast within a week or so."

Another slam was heard and Yami pulled away. "Wait! Don't go just yet!" Yugi cried as he sat up and leaned up towards Yami and he leaned down, both sharing a quick kiss before Yami left once more, the portal shutting just as Sheeva smashed the door off its hinges and looked to him who as now in the bed, glaring at her.

"I don't see no Earth warrior in here. Do you?" he hissed. "Tanya just came to me saying that she saw the boy who was nearly killed by Mileena was resting here in your room. You best not be trying to deceive us, Yami." she said, one pair of her arms crossed over her chest. Yami snorted as he got out of the bed and looked to her, crossing his arms as well.

"Even if I did bring him here, what proof could you find that he was here? Not only that but how can Tanya prove that he was here?" Sheeva sneered but knew he was right. Tanya pushed past Sheeva and glared at Yami.

"You can't lie! That boy was here and although I can't prove it, I saw it with my own two eyes and he was just resting in your bed, most of his wounds healed and his arm in a cast!" Tanya spoke. "You might be making that all up." Yami retorted and Sheeva held her hands up, the other set of arms crossed over her chest still.

"Enough, from the both of you! Whether the boy was here or not, I'm not going to have you two at each other's necks." she said, looking at Tanya then Yami. "Yami, in light of this little problem, you and Aqua both will be accused of fraternizing with the enemy but since you are two of the strongest fighters on our roster, we won't result to death." Yami growled in anger, eyes changing from the once gentle cerise that is only seen by Yugi to a cold crimson.

"Instead, you two will be closely monitored by Tanya and if she's to see anything relating to you two meeting you with anyone from the Earth warriors' side, she has permission to kill off whoever you meet." Sheeva confirmed. "This isn't fair!" he growled, looking to the smug Tanya.

"Hey, you could make everything easier and just admit that the boy was here." Tanya murmured and he growled, gritting his teeth before snorting. "Fine! But I will prove to you that he wasn't here at all. And if there's no sign of him or any other Earth warrior within the temple after two weeks, then Tanya lets up from watching us." Yami announced and Sheeva agreed to that.

"Fine by me. You can go back to your own devices now." she said before leaving out the room. Tanya watched her go before looking to Yami with a smirk. "You may have gotten away with this but I will find something that showed you had him here and that boy will die horrendously. I will be on both your tails every hour on the hour and once one of you slip up, I will have what I need, I'll tell Sheeva and I'll kill him oh so slowly using my Kobujutsu Kill fatality that he will wish to die faster as he's overcome by overwhelming pain." Tanya spoke before laughing as she left out the room.

Once she was gone, Yami punched the nearby wall, leaving a huge hole in it as the Black Magics swirled around his claws. "You will pay for this, Tanya. When you least expect it, you will be torn to shreds for what you tried to do." he whispered darkly before he went back over to the bed and lied down, knowing that the start of his and Aqua's problem has just begun cause like Tanya promised, she was always watching them and following them everywhere except for when they head into the bathroom or into their room for bed which is the only times they actually had peace away from her watching eyes.

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Zypher: Whoo, extremely long chapter than I expected but there was a lot of action, blood, the starting of trust for a relationship in Kaiser's and Ryou's cases and people ready to kill others for their actions. -grins- Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you all with another chapter, possibly very soon since I'm going to have fun messing with Tanya since she should know, trying to keep a eye on Yami and Aqua will be alot harder than she thinks. See you soon.

Note: Don't know if I mentioned it before but I will again, I do not own the idea of the Black and White Magics. This idea solely belongs to Princess Nefertari aka Krysta so give her credit for coming up with the use of this great idea. Also for those that don't have no clue how Tanya's fatality works, here's an explanation which its description belong solely to the source where I got most of the information for the MK characters from.

Kobu Jutsu Kill: Using her Kobu Jutsu, Tanya slices her enemy's torso, slits their throat, and then stabs them in their abdomen, allowing them to bleed to death as they sink to their knees. (there is a variety of sharp weapons she could use for this attack but since I don't play MK all that much, if she does ever use this fatality somewhere in my story, it will be either Sais or possibly the Kama but mostly it may be the Sais she will use when executing this fatality)

Also, since I'm still having problems with posting up new stories (evil category choosing button) I asked for Red Dragon of Egypt if she can help me out by posting up my Halloween story under her name so go visit her username or search for Nightly Maelstrom to read it. I hope you'll all enjoy it.


	18. Visiting and Breaking Family Ties

Zypher: Welcome all to another chapter to Challenge of the Kombat! Glad you all enjoyed the last chapter so here's another for you! Enjoy as always.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 17

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A few days passed since Tanya's discovery and Yugi was worrying more and more with no sign of Yami or Aqua. He regretted not sending the dragon, thinking that he would be able to hear from Yami or Aqua soon after he was brought back but now started to worry something may have happened to them. He called for the little dragon and he flew over to him, settling in his hair.

"I need you to head to the temple for me, little friend." Dae Raca, who was in the room with them, went to pick up a piece of paper and a pencil, handing them to Yugi and he thanked him before he started to write the note and rolled it up, handing it to the dragon and he crooned, wrapping his tail around it before flying off into the shadows, disappearing to the Dark temple.

Yugi watched him go, hoping for the best.

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Yami growled as he slammed the door in Tanya's face, who protested from the other side, and went to lie down on the bed. "Curse that woman. The last few days I could barely keep her off my tail and she's lucky I can't hurt her, or better yet, kill her." he mumbled, wishing he could visit Yugi for a majority of the day but knew if he did so and Tanya expecting him to not try and leave, even with the door locked, she would go and tell Sheeva or Motaro and that would result in a ton of trouble for them. He sighed, missing the feeling of having Yugi by his side and wish that he could meet with Yugi somewhere where Tanya couldn't find them.

He lied there for a while longer before he heard a croon and open is eyes to see the tiny dragon slip in from the shadows and sat up, holding a hand out for the little creature to rest upon. He did so and Yami took the rolled up note from him, opening it up while the dragon went to sit upon his shoulder, curling around his neck.

_Yami,_

_I know its dangerous to come and see me now with Tanya watching over your every move but please, I'm worried that something happened to you or Aqua. Every note I sent to you I've never got a response back and I thought the worse has happened. Please tell me nothing happened to you two._

_Yugi_

Yami's eyes filled with sadness as he read and then growled, glaring over at the door where Tanya could be standing still, waiting for anything and quietly conjured a piece of paper and a pen from the shadows. _'Don't worry, Yugi. I will make time. Tanya isn't going to hold me back from seeing you any longer.'_ he thought as he finished the note, adding a black rose with it and handed it to the dragon who left through the shadows and Yami stood, ready to confront Tanya and get her off his tail once and for all.

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When the dragon came back, Topaz was just sent in for a battle with Goro, arousing many worried thoughts about the capability that the four armed being would be defeated. Yugi still sat in the room, waiting for the dragon to come back, hopefully, with a response. Soon, he heard the dragon's croon as he came in and he looked over to him, smiling as he saw a note and a rose with him. The dragon flew over and deposited the load into Yugi's hands before curling around his neck as Yugi opened the note and read it, smiling as he saw that Yami and Aqua were now making attempts to come and see him.

_'That's good. I really started to worry about them. I almost thought Tanya caught them and they weren't able to do a thing from any punishment Shao Khan had for them.'_ Yugi thought. Now happy with their word that they would come, he got up from bed with a little help from Cynec and headed downstairs to watch the battle.

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On the Wu Shi Academy stage, Topaz and Goro faced off. "You will be smashed easily, little guy." he spoke, laughing as if it was a joke that Topaz would even have the slightest chance to win. "Don't call me little." Topaz growled. As soon as they were given the signal, Topaz brought out his weapon and went to attack, the attack missing as Goro leaped up into the air, ready to stomp the ground and Topaz with it. He jumped out the way as Goro made impact before he went to attack once more. He yelped as he was grabbed though by Goro's lower arms.

"This isn't going to turn out well." he said. "No, it isn't." Goro spoke, raising his upper arms, ready to use his Chest Pound attack.

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"Ouch, that looked like it hurt." Kaiser said as Topaz was tossed to the other side of the arena by Goro. "You think? He's being knocked around by a possible 400 ton, four armed fiend!" Jou exclaimed, watching as Topaz started making a comeback but it didn't last long as he hit the wall, knocking him out and giving Goro the first win. Topaz shook his head, rubbing it as well before standing and getting ready for the next round.

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With Shang Tsung, he finally found the location of Sindel and was now making his way back to the Outworld and the tournament. "Soon, you will free Shao Khan and we'll gain the power we need. And once we have that power, the Dragon King shall be reborn." he spoke. (and this is a very big hint on the main problem in the sequel)

Sindel didn't speak a word. Of course, she couldn't speak anyways since she was under a spell, putting her into a temporary trance. He knew it would take a few days to make it back to the portal but he knew it would be worth it in the end. But the trip was soon halted as Kung Lao and Liu Kang landed in front of him, ready to fight.

"So, you found Sindel. Good for you but this is where you'll be stopping your little advancement." Kung Lao spoke. "Oh? And you think only you two will stop me?" Shang Tsung spoke, pushing Sindel away and readying his magic for the battle.

They charged in, starting a battle that will last a good few days, the three never knowing who would win in the end.

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After another harsh throw to the wall, Topaz fell to the floor of the arena, unconscious, bruised and bleeding and the match going to Goro. He chuckled as he looked down to the other fighter before leaving out once the portal opened, Raiden coming in the help Topaz back to the temple. Once they were back, Diamond and Keara took him into their hands and went up to his room to tend to his wounds. "At this rate, if we keep going against the new dark warriors, we'll lose somebody to some sort of fatality or arena death." Ryou said.

"Yeah. And if we are all injured or dead, the world will belong to Shao Khan." Kaiser added. "But we can't let those thoughts hinder our chances of winning. They are powerful but that doesn't mean they are invincible. They can be defeated and I put all my trust in you all that you will." Raiden spoke, looking to them and they nodded. "Now, time for you all to rest for tomorrow is another battle." he said and they nodded once more as they all stood and went up to their rooms.

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That night, in the Dark warriors temple, Yami listened out to make sure Tanya wasn't hiding around any corner before he opened the door and snuck off to find Bakura and Marik. He found them waiting for him in the sitting room and Bakura looked up to him. "Aqua says you have something that you want to be done. What is it?" Bakura questioned.

"I need you to keep that fool Tanya off my tail. I want to see Yugi but with her prowling around me and Aqua nearly every second, I can't see him." he explained. "And what does this have to do with us? She's on your tail, not ours." Marik spoke.

"Maybe not now but she will be one of these days, I can tell." He looked to Bakura. "You already have a grudge against Baraka for what he did to Ryou. What happens if she hears him talk about how you wanted to kill him for what he did? Better yet, what happened if she finds that soul clone you made of Ryou? She'll tell Sheeva and she'll be watching you too." Then he turned to Marik.

"And Marik, I know of the doll you have of Malik. If she sees that, she'll be on your back as well, trying to figure out what the doll means to you." They paled at the thought then growled. "She needs to go. She will become more of a problem if she ever found any of us have interest in one of the earth warriors." Bakura hissed,

"And we'll deal with her soon. Right now, I just need you two to help me and Aqua keep her off our backs. I want to see Yugi and if she learns that one of us went to see him, he will get killed." They nodded. "We'll help but you two better deal with her soon." Bakura growled and Yami nodded. "Don't worry. She isn't going to be living long. Just keep her from finding out that I'm gone until I get back which should be sometime tomorrow." Yami said before he made a portal of shadows and disappeared.

Once he was gone, Bakura and Marik head back to their rooms, eagerly waiting for tomorrow where they can have fun with Tanya which meant using many deadly tricks to prevent her from finding out anything of Yami's leave.

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Yami made it to Yugi's room and smiled softly as he saw the boy was asleep sitting up against the headboard. Cynec looked to him and sighed in relief. /Glad you could finally make it. After coming back upstairs, he sat there, waiting to see if you or Aqua would come tonight. He soon fell asleep and we wouldn't dare to wake him after staying up so long./ Cynec explained. Yami nodded and slipped into the bed beside Yugi, moving him so he was lying down on his pillow and kissed his cheek softly. "Goodnight, my sweet angel."

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The next day, Yugi woke to a warm body next to him and looked over to the person sleepily before realizing who was there and smiled. _'Yami, you finally came.'_ he thought as he moved closer to the sleeping demon and wrapped his uninjured arm around him, placing his head upon his chest and soon fell back asleep again. No more than a few minutes later did Yami wake up and saw that Yugi shifted his position. He smiled and started stroking his hair lightly, gaining a soft purr from Yugi before he woke and looked up to face him.

"Morning, love. Did you sleep well?" he asked softly. Yugi nodded, starting to sit up the best he could before Yami helped him to sit up fully. He looked over to Cynec and asked for him to bring up some breakfast for Yugi before he started to reawaken the White Magics within him.

"It shouldn't be long now. With you resting most of the time, your White Magics should be fully awakened once I'm done." Yami said. Yugi nodded, smiling up to him. "I'm just happy to see you again. I really missed you and like I said in that letter, I really thought that something happened to you or Aqua." Yugi whispered softly.

"I'm sorry to have worried you so much but Tanya wouldn't get off my back and followed me everywhere. When she was following Aqua around to make sure he wasn't up to anything, I tried to get here myself but couldn't since she nearly caught me each time. And we both knew that if we didn't show up somewhere in the temple, she would suspect that we left and tell Sheeva or Motaro." Yami explained as he removed his hands away and confirmed that Yugi now has the full power of the White Magics.

"But if you couldn't come with her keeping such a close eye on you, how did you get here last night?" Yugi asked as he sat up, Yami taking his arm that was still wrapped in the cast and started to remove it. "Because I made a deal with Bakura and Marik. They are too infatuated with two of the fighters here and have two things that really stands out.

"If Tanya were to see them, they would get in more trouble than me coming here to visit you so they decided to help me out by dealing with her while I'm here with you." He then looked down as he discarded the bandages. Yugi looked up to him in wonder before placing a hand over his. "Is something wrong, Yami?"

He sighed softly before nodding. "Even though they're making sure that Tanya doesn't know I'm gone, I can't stay here any longer than the end of today." he whispered and Yugi frowned before nodding. "Ok...I really wish you could stay longer but I don't want to put you in danger because of me." he spoke.

Yami hummed in discontent before wrapping an arm around him. "Don't feel that way, Yugi. I know we won't be able to see each other more frequently but I don't want you to feel that you caused this to happen." Yami said and Yugi sniffed slightly before looking up to him and nodded, smiling once more.

Soon, Cynec walked in with breakfast and handed it to Yugi who started to eat, sharing some with Yami before he got up and headed downstairs to see who will fight next but promise Yami that he'll come back upstairs. Everyone was soon gathered in the sitting room and Raiden walked in, looking to them. "Another day brings another battle and for today's first battle, it will be Keara against Siegfried." They nodded and Leon, thinking that this would be the perfect opportunity to get rid of Siegfried once and for all, got up and walked over to Keara.

"Mind if I pull you away for a sec before you get into the battle?" he asked and she nodded, asking if Raiden could meet her at the door before following Leon. "So, what do you need?" she asked. "I need you to defeat Siegfried. Kill him to be blunt." Leon spoke.

"And why do you wish for me to do that?"

"Because, although he is my brother, he is too power hungry and he is out to kill me as well because I defied him in helping him gain ultimate power. Just to get to me, I can only bet that he would kill someone on the team and I don't want to deal with that weight on my shoulders." he explained and she nodded, growling.

"Don't worry. I'll deal with him and make sure he pays for ever thinking that killing you would stop anyone from stopping his advances for ultimate power." Keara hissed and he nodded, thanking her. She left him to meet up with Raiden at the door and they both left out to head to the portal. Once they were gone, Yugi excused himself and headed back up to his room.

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Yami looked up when he came back in and smiled to him. "So, who's up next?" he asked as Yugi came to sit on the bed beside him. "Keara's going up against Siegfried." he told him and Yami nodded. "Good, that means one less person to worry about. If he ever knew what some of us are trying to achieve, he'll probably be worse than Tanya but make it more hard by having more rules tethering us to the temple and Shao Khan." Yami said as he wrapped an arm around Yugi and pulled him close, opening a window to the portal where Raiden met up with Motaro with the fighters in tow.

"The stage that they will fight on is Dragon Mountain." Raiden said and Motaro agreed. Keara got a glint in her eyes and she smirked. "Sounds like my kind of place." She whispered to herself as the portal opened and they entered the arena.

They arena was in a mountain that was near hollow on the inside with various tunnels and caverns that led to the spot where they fought. Magic crackled around Keara's hands as she looked to Siegfried who was unsheathing his Kriss Blade weapon. "Time for your reign of terror to end, Siegfried." she whispered as they were given the signal and they charged into battle.

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"I wonder who will win this fight?" Dartz questioned. "Who knows but lets hope that Siegfried puts that girl in her place." Mileena spoke. From above, Marik watched Tanya intensely, instinct making him want to take her down now but doing so would raise question so he ignored it. He then looked around once more, noticing that Baraka nor Bakura were around. _'I wonder where they are?'_

In another hallway far from them, Bakura slammed Baraka into the wall. He hissed angrily as he looked into the glowing red eyes of the other. "I said I was going to make your life worse and by all means I'm sticking to that promise." Bakura hissed. Baraka growled angrily and tried to pull away but his grip on his arms was too strong for even him to break free. "And how are you planning to do that? If you hurt me when I haven't been in a battle, our teammates will suspect something and I can have you to blame." Baraka hissed, grinning.

"Who says I'm going to hurt you physically?" Bakura said with a grin of his own. Baraka frowned at this and started to actually worry about what Bakura is capable of.

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Back in the battle, Siegfried tried to do his best just to make a scratch on Keara but she dodged every one of his attacks and countering with her spells until she knocked him over and a well aimed fireball. She won the round and Siegfried growled as he stood once more. She landed and glared at him.

He returned the glare, readying his weapon once more and waiting for the signal for the second round. Once it was given, he charged in once more but hit an invisible barrier. He growled as he stumbled back and was going to try another attack but he was flung back by another ball of energy.

While he was down, Keara walked over to him and glared down to him. "Now, it's time for you to pay for what you tried to do and what you are trying to accomplish." she hissed before she started chanting in another tongue. From both sides, they watched in question and anticipation for what she was about to do when they heard a deafening roar and saw a dragon that could be the sheer size of the earth itself hovering above the field. "Siegfried, meet Veeshan. The Mother of the Dragons." Keara spoke as she roared once more, glaring down at the other.

Siegfried gulped in fear, seeing as he was no match for the other. "So...ending my life is the way to go. Fine then, but I regret nothing and sooner or later, someone else will follow in my footsteps and once they gain the power from Shao Khan, anything they desire will be theirs, even Earth." he said, chuckling. Keara hissed angrily.

"You think too highly on what Shao Khan is capable of. We will stop him and even if he gets free, the might of the Earth warriors will stop him." she spoke before motioning to Veeshan and with another roar, she relinquished a breath of fire that charred Siegfried into nothing but ashes and she dismissed Veeshan once the deed was done.

The portal opened and she walked through and followed Raiden back to the temple while Motaro muttered angrily as he headed back to his own.

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"Wow, now that was a devastating fatality." Yami murmured and Yugi agreed silently. Yami dispersed the portal before standing. "Well, I'm going to head back for now but I will try to visit again soon. Maybe Aqua will come to see you sometime tonight if possible so watch out for him." Yami said and Yugi nodded, still wishing that he wouldn't go but knew he had to in order to keep suspicions about him not being seen anywhere in the temple low. Yami kissed him softly before making a portal back to his room and vanished.

Yugi watched him go before sighing. _'Well, now that my White Magics are released now, maybe I should start learning how to use them so I'll be ready to use them for my next battle.'_ he thought as he stood and left out the room with Dae Raca by his side.

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Back in the battle that lasted two weeks after the fight between Keara and Siegfried, with Shang Tsung threw them away from him using another strong energy blast before he continued on his way to return Sindel to Shao Khan before they could retaliate. With him long gone, Liu Kang and Kung Lao made their own return back to the temple to tell Raiden what was happening.

He looked to them before asking about their progress. "It's bad, Raiden. Shang Tsung has found Sindel and is on his way back to the Dark temple to turn her in to Sheeva and Motaro." Kung Lao explained. Yugi, who was walking by, heard of this and stood back, listening in.

"Then we must do something quickly. There is no way how we can stop them from giving Sindel off to Shao Khan so now, when he shows, we must defeat him before he can start his reign of terror." Raiden said and Yugi gasped, running back up to his room and called for the little dragon. He chirped softly as he appeared, settling in his hair as he walked over to the table and grab a sheet of paper and a pen.

"You need to give this to Yami or Aqua and quick. We can't let Shao Khan get free and I know they may know of a way to stop them." Yugi said, handing the rolled up note to the dragon and he chirped once more before heading through the shadows to Yami's room.

Getting another idea, he looked over to Dae Raca. "Dae Raca, I need you to do something too. Go and get Keara. She may know of something to transport Sindel somewhere else before they get her to the dimensional gate. Hurry." The other nodded and left out the room quickly and to Keara's. Yugi sighed and looked out to the setting sun. _'Let's hope we can plan something quickly before Shao Khan can get free.'_ he thought.

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Zypher: And there's the end for this chapter. Hope you all enjoyed and I finally found some new stages to use from the new Mortal Kombat Armageddon. Of course, I have no idea whether there are stage fatalities in that game since nowhere had any info on them and how they work so I may possibly make my own until they do say so somewhere.

And now I need some approvals. As I was writing this, I came up with two new characters to add to the game. The Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2 and Silver the Hedgehog from the new Sonic game (please don't ask and don't give me hate stuff about him or the new game. I happen to like him and the idea just came into mind on adding him in to the plotline as I wrote the chapter).

Adding Pyramid Head came from some pictures from DA that expressed him as a monster that kills but was misunderstood in general because of that and it made me picture him as someone who needs a person that can watch and care for him in which I'm giving the role to Yugi if you want him in the story (even though I know you all think he would be better off on the Dark warriors side which I may contemplate after reading what you guys think and come up with the next set of ideas for the next chapter).

But all in all, hoped you enjoyed the chapter as always and tell me whether I should add these two, or one if you have a problem with Silver fitting in here (and don't make a big deal about it or else this may get discontinued if I get mad enough), into the story.

Note: If you do agree to add Pyramid Head into the story, he will be able to remove the helmet and I can send the link to any given emails to show how I will picture his face underneath.


	19. Nightly Sanctuary

Zypher: Well, I do believe its time for another chapter to another of our favorite stories. Thanks for your comments and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

Note: Pyramid Head and Silver will be in this chapter since you all feel fine with them being added in. They belong to their rightful creators so that means I don't own.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 18

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The dragon appeared the the room not long after Yami walked in and slammed the door in Tanya's face as usual. "Ah, come to bring news to me?" he asked and the dragon nodded as he flitted over to his side and dropped the note in his open palm before curling around his neck. Yami unrolled the note and skimmed over it before gasping.

"No. He can't get free now." He then started to growl angrily. "I'm not going to let him get free but I can't do this alone and with Tanya on my tail." He walked over to the desk and brought out a sheet of paper, writing a quick note on it before telling the smaller dragon to take it to Bakura and Seto.

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Yugi quickly made his way to Keara's room and knocked on the door quickly, waiting only a few seconds before she opened the door. "Hello, Yugi. Is there something you need?" she asked. "Yes and it's really urgent." he said and she let him come inside before closing the door behind him. He sat down on the bed while Keara rested on the plush chair not far from it. "So, what do you need to tell me?"

"You know of Sindel, right?" She nodded.

"Well, I just heard from Kung Lao that she was found by the person that was looking for her on the Dark warrior's side. He has her now and will probably be taken to the Dimensional gate if Yami and Aqua doesn't fail to get her before that happens. I wanted to ask you if you know of a place to transport her to keep her safe."

Keara thinks for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I have the perfect place in mind and a place that surely Shao Khan's forces cannot reach. The Plane of Knowledge should do just fine. Tell Yami and Aqua that and once they get her, they can bring her here and I'll send her off before any of Shao Khan's men find out she's gone." Keara said and Yugi thanked her happily before leaving out the room and headed back to his own to wait for the dragon.

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As Shang Tsung came in, bringing Sindel with him, Yami was gathered with Aqua, Seto and Bakura to talk about the situation at hand. "And if we don't get Sindel before she is taken to Shao Khan, he will be released, he'll take over and soon, he will use his power to destroy the Earth warriors. Even if they do put up a fight, they may have little chance to win." Yami said. "Well, we can't let that happen. I'm not letting him kill Jou." Seto growled.

"You're not the only one. If he gets his way and kill them, even with a fight, I'll go berserk, you'll go berserk and I don't even want to go into what may happen with Marik or Toben since they have their own infatuation to get to and they haven't made any progress as far as I know. If I know one thing, if whoever they like are dead, all hell will break loose here." Bakura said.

"Then we need to start now but first, we need to get rid of Tanya. If she knew what we're up to, she won't hesitate to tell someone and get us into more trouble than we need to be in." Aqua spoke and Bakura nodded. "Leave that to Crimson and Toben. They'll come up with something to deal with her." They nodded as Yami called for the dragon, giving him another note to send to Crimson and Toben before they headed downstairs to enact their plan and to also see who was up next for the battle.

"Alright. We've decided the next battle and its Reptile against Yugi." Sheeva spoke and Aqua gave a slight growl as he watched the reptilian warrior get up and follow Motaro to the portal. They all waited in silence before their sensitive hearing caught Tanya's muffled scream, alerting them that she was dealt with for the moment so they can get started with their plan. Yami, Seto, Bakura and Aqua got up from their seats and left to head upstairs, Yami calling for the serpentine dragon to come as he held the note in hand, handing it to the dragon before sending him off to Yugi's room once more.

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Yugi waited for a moment in his room, hoping to hear news from Yami or Aqua. He knew of the battle and knew that he would have to head downstairs soon to meet with Raiden and leave to head to the portal. He heard his name being called and sighed, hoping that he wouldn't get killed and was about to leave the room when he heard a croon and turned to see the dragon come from the shadows with a note. He smiled brightly as he held out his hand for the note and the dragon dropped it to his waiting grip. He thanked the dragon and left out the room, heading downstairs while reading the note and gave a nod as he pocketed it.

Once he was downstairs, he gave a quick nod to Keara who nodded back and then he was off with Raiden to head to the portal where his rival awaited while Keara headed up to his room to wait for Yami or Aqua to bring Sindel. Once they were at the portal, Reptile looked to Yugi and gave a slight hiss. "Ok, your stage shall be the Sarna Ruins." Raiden spoke and they nodded as he directed the portal to that arena and they stepped through, preparing their weapons for battle.

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"Let me out of here! Let me out! Ooooh, when I get out of here, I will tell Sheeva and Motaro about this and make sure you pay!" Tanya screamed from her place in the closet. Crimson and Toben chuckled as they stood side by side in front of the door, making sure she couldn't get away with anything. "I'm sorry but we can't hear you." Toben spoke, getting another frustrated yell from the other fighter.

With the others, they found Sindel and after putting her under a sleeping spell, Yami and Aqua transported her to Yugi's room at the Earth temple before they left to go about their business as if they didn't cause anything or was the reason Sindel is missing.

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Yugi slid back, topping over the sandy field they were set on, out of breath and giving the win to Reptile. He stood back up once more, panting slightly as he sent a small glare towards the reptilian warrior. They were both one for one and the next win would decided it all. _'Hopefully I can make this count. He's tougher like all the other new recruits but at least he isn't trying to kill me.'_ Yugi thought as he charged in for battle.

Their weapons clashed, red hot sparks flying as the battle raged with great intensity. As their weapons clashed again, Reptile smirked down to the smaller. "You are very ssskilled, child. Perhapssss you have the chance to win againssst me?" he spoke as they jumped back over the sandstone floor.

"We'll just see." Yugi responded, sword starting to glow with the flowing White Magics before he charged in to attack once more. But the unexpected whip of Reptile's tail caught Yugi off guard and he flew back once more, hitting the ground harshly and he winced, feeling the emergence of a welt on the back of his head. He rubbed his head while Reptile advanced closer, raising his weapon in movement to dislodge an arm or a leg and Yugi flinched, waiting for the attack to connect but it never came, only another sound of metal hitting metal and he looked up.

The sky was dark with the menacing power of Aqua, blocking the Earth and Dark warriors' view once more as he made his entrance. Aqua gave a snarl as he threw his Kirehashi weapon off to the side with his Bladed Talons and Reptile backed away, intimidated by the other. Aqua watched him and making sure he wasn't up to anything, he turned back to Yugi, kneeling. "Are you alright, love?" he asked, helping him sit up.

"I'm fine, just a little hurt. The White Magics is dulling the pain of this welt but it's still there." Yugi said, feeling the back of his head for said welt and winced slightly. Aqua tsked softly and placed his hand over the welt and Yugi felt a burning sensation for a second before it went away along with the pain and he felt for it and found it was completely healed and he smiled up to him.

"Thank you, Aqua." he whispered and he smiled back, placing a small kiss on his forehead. "No problem." he spoke. Reptile watched the display silently before walking over. Aqua's had snapped towards his direction, growling slightly and he held up his hands in defense. "I do not intend to harm. I ssssee the bond you two sssshare and I don't wish to ruin it. May I ask for your forgivenessss for my near amputation of an arm or a leg from your partner?" Reptile spoke, bowing before him.

Aqua still growled but soon stopped and stood, bringing Yugi with him and looked down to Reptile. "I'll accept it and I'll accept Yugi's loss for this match as well but the next time you are up against anyone, I suggest you keep the damage to a minimum." Reptile nodded once more before he stood.

"Thank you. That'sss all I needed." he spoke, looking to them. "If you will, I am now in your debt. Whatever you ask of me, I will do." Aqua nodded and then thought of something and explained it to Reptile and although he was, at first, one of those people who wanted power from Shao Khan, he nodded and agreed to help them.

"Ok. Now that we have that settled, I will leave. Yugi, you just play faint until Reptile leaves with Motaro and then you can head back. If I can, I shall come over tonight." He said and Yugi nodded and lied down on the sandstone, warmed but the bright sun above, eyes closed to look like he was unconscious and once that task was done, Aqua left, giving the warriors their view once more and Reptile was claimed the winner.

The portal opened and with care, Reptile picked up Yugi and left out, handing him over to Raiden before walking of with Motaro, not answering his persistent questions about why he even bothered to help him.

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After two more battles commenced, and after making sure Sindel was safely accommodated in the Plane of Knowledge, they ate dinner and were off to bed. Yugi sat up in bed, petting the small dragon's head as he waited for Aqua to come. Soon, a ripple appeared in the shadows and Aqua came through, smiling over to him.

Yugi smiled back and stood, placing the dragon onto the bed and ran over to give the older dragon a small hug. "I missed you, Aqua." he said and Aqua chuckled softly before stroking his hair fondly. "I know. I missed you as well. Now come, I have a place I want to show you." Aqua said, kneeling down so that Yugi could climb onto his back.

He did so and once he was secured and wouldn't slip, he opened the window with a flick of his hand and was out into the night sky. They flew for a short while, Yugi looking down upon the forest before Aqua made a move to land. Once he was on the ground, Yugi slipping off his back and Aqua took his hand before tugging him further into the forest.

Yugi was silent as he was tugged behind Aqua before speaking up softly. "Where are we going?" he asked quietly. "Someplace special." he whispered as he continued along the way through the forest which Yugi didn't expect to be any larger since they normally only met in a small expanse of the forest other than the portion that led to the portal. He then noticed that the leaves started to increasingly glow as they continued along the way then felt Aqua started to slow his pace. "You will love this place." he murmured as he stopped and pushed Yugi along ahead of him. Yugi looked up to him as he walked past before looking ahead of him and gasped at the beauty of the area.

A large lake sat in front of them, glowing as the moonlight and the glow from the tree leaves. A tree sat right in the center of the lake, glowing brightly compared to the others around the lake. (a/n - in a way, think of Macalania Woods from FFX) "How did you find this beautiful place, Aqua?" Yugi asked in a breathless whisper, still in awe.

"During the days we couldn't reach you, me and Yami wanted to find a place to relax peacefully since we tire of the rules of us never leaving out of the temple and dealing with Tanya. We found this as we traveled through the forest just in case Tanya tried to look around the areas of the forest we normally head to when she's trying to make sure we weren't leaving to see you." he explained before taking his hand and smiled down to him.

"Wish to skate with me?" Yugi looked up to him, surprise and curiosity in his eyes. "How?" Aqua walked out onto the surface of the water, a black mist gathering beneath his feet from the Black Magics and floated upon the surface. "With our magics." he said, staying just far out enough to continue to keep his hold upon Yugi's hand.

He looked down to the lake before stepping onto the surface, the White Magics gathering beneath his feet as well and keeping him afloat. He smiled warmly as he looked up to Aqua who smiled back. "Come." he said as he pulled Yugi along, skating gracefully along the water surface. Yugi followed beside him, keeping his fingers intertwined with his and soon, a passionate waltz was formed between the two as they continued to dance across the water, the blanket of stars glimmering in the night sky, the same night sky he always love to watch after a day of vigorous battles.

_'And it's always a wonderful experience every time I spend time with Yami or Aqua.'_ Yugi thought, resting his head onto Aqua's chest and closing his eyes as he continue to lead them across their invisible dance floor in a elegant, relaxing motion. Soon, as it was getting later in the night, they left from the lake, sitting down along the shore. "This was wonderful, Aqua. I'm glad you have showed me this place." Yugi whispered.

"It was nothing. This place will now be our own little secret sanctuary away from the battles and the threat of the world being destroyed until our next battle." Aqua said, leaning down to nuzzle him. They sat there for a while longer before they got up and left the lake, making their way back to where the portal was but they weren't expecting to be found by none other than Sheeva.

"Aqua, what are you doing out here and with the boy? Didn't I tell you the consequences of what will happen if I or Motaro see you with him?" she said and Aqua snarled angrily, placing Yugi behind him. "I like to just see you try and kill him while I'm around." he growled. Sheeva glared and was ready to jump at them but gave a gurgle as an unexpected blade crusted in blood stuck out through her midsection. Blood seeped from her mouth as the sword was removed from her and she slumped forward, blood pooling on the ground. They looked to her before looking up to the other.

It was a man by their standards with very pale skin and wore a bloodstained cloth around his waist. The odd feature about him was the huge metal helmet shaped in the shape of a pyramid that rested over his head, blocking his face from view and colored a rusted red. The blade, once covered with crusted blood from his previous slain foes, was now red with the steaming warm blood of Sheeva and it look like he wasn't going to stop there. The gaze hidden from view now looked to them and Aqua growled more, the Black Magics crackling around him and Yugi could feel it. But that wasn't the only thing he felt.

He was very hard to spot from their distance but Yugi soon saw it, the glimmer of tears dripping from beneath the helmet. "Aqua, don't attack. There's something wrong." Yugi said, pointing to the tears. Aqua saw them as well and nodded. "I see but what can we do? Even with the tears, he looks likes he planning to attack either way." Aqua spoke as the Pyramid Head advanced closer.

"Maybe that's just it. He must hate to fight but does so anyway cause that's how his life has been." Yugi stated before stepping forward. "And I think I know of a way. Just hold back for now and if what I do doesn't work, help me out." he continued and Aqua nodded as he watched him confront the other.

The Pyramid Head didn't speak but saw Yugi coming closer and not wielding a weapon. He was tempted to not attack but instinct took over and he raised the Great Knife high into the air, ready to lash out but stopped mid-attack, feeling a warm yet unusual sense of joy. He looked down as much as he could and saw that Yugi have given him a hug. This gesture was odd yet comforting to the Pyramid Head and everything was silent for a while longer, Aqua watching intensely to make sure that nothing was going to happen to Yugi.

Yugi looked up to the other and gently wiped away the tears before smiling. "It's ok now. You have friends with me and Aqua. You don't have to fight anymore." he whispered and believing his words, he dropped the knife and knelt down, wrapping his arms around the smaller and cried more freely. "So, that was it. He believed his only purpose in life was to fight, no matter whether he didn't want to." Aqua said as he walked over. He placed a hand over the helm.

"Can we remove this?" he asked and Pyramid Head nodded. Aqua nodded as well and lifted up the heavy helm from his shoulders, relieving him of the burdening weight and revealing the hidden features underneath. Next to his pale skin, he also had pale blond hair that reach just a bit past his shoulders and pale blue eyes still shining with tears.

He continued to cry until he couldn't no more and Yugi looked up to Aqua. "What can we do? We can't possibly leave him here all alone now." Yugi said. "You are right and I think I know of a great idea. He can come back with me and be part of the team and he can help us out with dealing with Shao Khan. Even with his brutality, he is still capable of putting up a good fight." Aqua said as he pat the other's shoulder and he turned his gaze to him. "Would you like to come back with me and at least have a place to live and food to eat?" he asked. Pyramid Head looked to him and then down to Yugi as if asking him if it would be aright.

Yugi nodded, smiling to him. "It's alright. He and the people he will introduce you to are very nice. It would be better than living wherever you have as a home." Yugi said and the Pyramid Head thought of it before nodding. "Good. And since you don't speak so you can't give us your name, your new name will be Asmodeous." he continued and the newly named fighter nodded once more.

They stood and Asmodeous took hold of his weapon once more, Aqua picking up the helmet. "Well, we better be getting back. The White Magics will lead you back to your temple since I need to get back quickly before anyone wakes up due to Tanya's incessant yelling and I don't need Motaro on my tail for not being there. Especially now that Sheeva's dead." Aqua said.

Yugi nodded and looked to Asmodeous with a smile. "Now you just listen to whatever Aqua has to say. He will teach you everything you need to know and when I can, I'll come to see you." He nodded and soon, Aqua and Asmodeous were gone through the shadows. Once they were gone, Yugi started making his way back to the temple, staying in tune with his magics as they pulled him in the right direction. But as he walked, he felt a slight disturbance in the air and stopped, looking around with a hint of fear.

He heard something getting close to where he was and he drew out his sword, ready to fight. The figure tumbled out from the bushes and Yugi looked at him. He was an odd creature that somewhat reminded him of a hedgehog. He had silver fur and gold-yellow eyes that looked to him in confusion. He wore white gloves that had a glowing insignia on them along with a pair of black boots with a sea green tip and a line of silver-grey going down the middle. Around the lip of both the gloves and the boots were thick gold bands that also had light blue bands glowing around the center.

A mane of snow white fur surrounded his neck while five spines, Yugi believe to be, stuck up from his forehead. Seeing as he wasn't a threat since he hasn't attack yet, he lowered his weapon. "Who are you?" he asked softly. "I'm Silver. Who are you and where am I?" he asked as he stood up. "I'm Yugi Motou and you're in the Outworld." Yugi said. (a/n - don't know if I mentioned a location in past chapters but that's where they'll be for now. starting to fall asleep in my chair again so my thoughts are slowly shutting down on me)

"Great. Now I'm far away from home." he murmured as he looked around. "May I ask where did you come from?" Yugi asked again as he sheathed his sword and walked over to the anthro hedgehog. "I'm from the distant future but something happened and I was sent here. And as of now, I have no way back." Silver explained.

"That doesn't sound too good and who knows what could be roaming in these forests. Maybe you can come back with me to the temple." Yugi suggested but Silver shook his head. "Nice of you to offer but I can handle myself out here. I have telekinesis so anything that would attack me I can handle." he said and as a demonstration, he lifted a good sized tree from the ground with a wave of his arm, a blue aura surrounding him as he did so.

"But its late and you may get lost. Come with me and maybe Raiden can find out a way for you to get back." Yugi said, smiling lightly. "Really? You think so?" he asked hopefully. Yugi nodded. "Sure." Silver nodded and Yugi led him back to the temple telling him about the tournament along the way. Once they were back at the temple, Yugi led Silver over to a spare room. "Here you go. Tomorrow morning, I'll come get you and let you meet with Raiden and see if he knows of a way to get you home." Silver nodded as he sat down on the bed.

"Thanks for your help, Yugi. One day, I'll think of a way to repay your kindness." Silver spoke, smiling to him and Yugi shrugged, laughing softly. "It was nothing. I already helped out one person in the forest and you looked like you were lost since you have no idea where you are. I don't know of any reason why I shouldn't have helped you out."

"True, true." Silver agreed and they both said goodnight before Yugi closed the door and headed back to his own room, tuckered out from the long night.

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Zypher: -sleeping-

Yugi: Well, as you can see, Zypher is really tired now but she wants to wish you all had fun reading this chapter and the first debut of Silver and Asmodeous. If you want to learn a little about Silver or the Pyramid Head, just go to wikipedia. If planned, they both may be in a battle in the next chapter so she will get out a small bio for them at the beginning of the next chapter. Hoped you enjoyed and we'll see you again next time. -waves-


	20. Switching Sides

Zypher: Well, due to my lack of creativity and the continuous updates to Chains of the Seal, I finally got something. so here's another update to Challenge of the Kombat. Glad you all enjoyed the last chapter and I hope you'll do the same for this one. Now, time for Silver and Asmodeous bios.

Silver

Fatality - Uses psychic powers to tear his opponent limb by limb and leave their bloody remains upon the floor. On any pool stages (ex Deadpool), he will toss the remains into the acid or lava.

Babality - Small baby hedgehog with wide gold eyes and soft silver fur

Animality - None

Friendship - Does a friendly display with his psychic power

Bio - After being unwillingly send back in time, he now joins to Earth Warriors to help their cause that could not only save their worlds but many others, including his own.

Asmodeous

Fatality - Mercilessly slashes opponent into ribbons with Great Knife

Babality - None

Animality - None

Friendship - Aqua appears and hands a gift to Asmodeous who gives it to the opponent kindly

Bio - With a mind only focused on killing, he was soothed of the deadly nature by the kind heart of Yugi and now fights on the side of the Dark Warriors but under Aqua's tutelage, doesn't kill anyone on the side of good. He made good friends with those that find this tournament nothing but a problem except for the bond that it brought between those that have found love within each other and hopes to soon find peace and never have to worry about killing again unless necessary.

Note: We'll be having another guest appearance by another favorite character. This certain character may makes more appearances in other stories due to my infatuation with him and also motherly care after the past he went through.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 19

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The next morning, Yugi went to fetch Silver and took him to meet with Raiden. When they encountered the Thunder God, Silver was amazed. "Silver, this is Raiden. he's basically the overseer of the Earth warriors and makes sure that there isn't any unfairness in the battles." Yugi explained before looking to Raiden.

"Raiden, this is Silver. I met him last night and he is of need of a place to stay since he was transported from his time to here and doesn't know how to get back." Raiden nodded and looked to Silver. "Welcome to the team, Silver. I can tell already that you already contain powers of your own so if you wish, you can battle alongside us or just stay out until I can find a way to take you back home." Raiden spoke and Silver shook his head.

"No. Yugi told me a bit about the tournament last night and to save not just Earth but other worlds, I rather help than to stand by." Raiden nodded and using his power, granted him the use of a naginata for a weapon although the likely use of it may be rare but its best to have something just in case those on the other side have a way to lock away his power for a temporary amount of time. "Well, since you're new and best get into the swing of things, would you like to take the first battle today?" Yugi asked.

"Sure. Better to see my competition up close than to wait for a later time." Silver spoke.

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With Aqua and Asmodeous, he introduced him to Yami and the others and explained the situation with him which most understood. Marik was wondering why the other didn't embrace the feeling which made him get whacked over the head by Aqua. Motaro walked in and after getting the basics of Asmodeous' power, he readied him for a battle but sent Crimson to battle with Silver for the first round. "Crimson, go easy on this guy. He doesn't look like a threat to us." Aqua spoke and Crimson snorted.

"Like hell I will." he muttered as he headed towards the door. "Alright then. If you kill him, I'm sure Diamond will _loathe_ you even more." he retorted and Crimson growled, knowing that Aqua could be right about that and grumbled as he followed Motaro out to the portal since they have yet to figure out what happened to Sheeva after last night when she went out on a midnight patrol.

Aqua looked over to Asmodeous and explained to him about not hurting anyone from the other team and basically throw the match but not without giving a display of his power. Asmodeous looked curious about it and Aqua only patted his shoulder.

"We keep things a secret from the rest of the team except for this little group. We don't want to get into hot water with Motaro who would tell Shao Khan, the organizer of this tournament. Knowing him, if he found out anything, he would bind us more than we want to and we have people of interest from the other side, as you have seen last night when you met me and Yugi." Aqua explained, running a hand gently through washed blonde locks.

Asmodeous nodded and Aqua lifted the huge pyramid helmet with one hand, taking Asmodeous' arm gently with the other and they headed over into the sitting room to watch the battle between Silver and Crimson.

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"Watch yourself against him, Silver. He's a person who can be very crafty with his attacks." Diamond said before they other let to meet with Raiden at the door. "Ok, Diamond." he spoke before he left and Raiden took him to the portal where Motaro and Crimson awaited. "The stage shall be the Living Forest." Motaro spoke and Raiden nodded in agreement before bringing up the portal that would lead to their location. Silver and Crimson entered before appearing on opposite ends of the forested arena and given the signal, they charged into battle.

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"Do you think Crimson will stay out of trouble and not hurt this new critter badly?" Bakura questioned. "Who knows. He might, knowing that he will lose all chances with Diamond if he mortally wounds him." Yami answered, being very silent since Tanya was looking over to him and he snarled towards her. She eeped slightly and turned back to the portal to watch the battle and Yami mumbled something about dumb broads and snooping in places they shouldn't. Asmodeous looked down to Aqua in question and Aqua explained about the problem they had with Tanya and the other frowned, looking back to the other fighter and a faint trance of anger and possible lust for murder flitted through his eyes.

The battle was going pretty well, even better than expected even if Crimson was trying to hurt him. "He's good with those psychic power on his side." Ruby spoke and Crimson got knocked over by another fallen tree that Silver picked up and tossed at him. The first round went to him and Crimson snarled as he stood up again. The next round started and Crimson charged for the other but Silver lifted up one of the moaning trees lining the side. "Time to take this one out of the park." he said as he swing the tree forcefully. "Oh boy." Crimson whispered as he tried to stop but was hit and went flying, his stop being made by another tree.

The match went to Silver and as Crimson fell, he bounced of some of the branches he hit along the way down and hit the ground harshly. He groaned as the portal open and Motaro walked in. "Pathetic." he whispered as he lifted the other and walked out, Silver following behind him. "You did well for you first time but next time, go easy." Raiden said and Silver questioned why. As the walked, Raiden explained about some of the nicer fighters on the Dark warriors' side that have more of a goal that doesn't involve the destruction of the world.

"Oh...I guess I went a little too hard on him, then." Silver said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head as they entered the temple.

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"Man, Crimson. You got whipped by someone three heads shorter than you." Bakura said as he, Marik and Aqua stood in the room, Aqua healing the wounds he gotten. "Shut up, Baka-ra. I did it so Diamond wouldn't hate me. I still need to meet her soon so I can tell her how I feel. But seriously, that little guy can hit hard with those psychic powers." Crimson mumbled as Aqua finished wrapping up the last bandage. "Maybe if you be good, I'll take you to her. You sprained a wing from those multiple hits falling down that tree." Aqua said and Crimson snorted.

Bakura chuckled and before he could make another comment, Aqua dragged him out. Marik watched them go before looking down to Crimson. "Get well." he whispered before leaving as well. Crimson watched him go before lying his head down upon the pillows of his bed. "Who knew the guy would be compassionate about my wounds. We know of him being a sadistic nut job." Crimson whispered before he fell asleep.

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The next battle was made and it was Jax against Asmodeous. Yugi confronted the other fighter about Asmodeous and told him not to hurt him too much since he may throw the battle for their win anyway.

"Do you really think I should, Yugi? He looks like a tougher opponent to not underestimate so easily."

"I know but Aqua is teaching him the ropes and I know he surely told the other to not hurt anyone in battle too much, just enough to convince Motaro that we don't have some hidden agreement going on."

"Motaro? What about Sheeva?" Jax questioned. "Well," Yugi started and explained what happened last night that led to the meeting of Asmodeous and Jax understood now and promised to go easier on the other fighter. Yugi thanked him and gave him a hug before leaving to sit in the sitting room to watch the battle. He looked around and didn't spot Ryou anywhere. "Hey, where's Ryou?" he asked. "He said he went out to take a walk but he will be back soon." Jou said and Yugi nodded.

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"Now, remember what I told you. Throw the fight but wound him a little so you won't make Motaro suspicious." Aqua explained. He nodded and Aqua placed the helmet over his head and he walked over to Motaro, both leaving once he reached him.

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Ryou walked about the forest quietly, admiring the peace around them even if they were in the middle of a life or death tournament. Birds chirped softly and the winds brushed through the leaves. Ryou smiled and closed his eyes but then opened them again as he heard soft sobbing further in the forest. He ran towards the sound and soon came to the source of the sound. In a very small clearing was a boy. He had short, messy, dark red hair and wore a sea green shawl and black pants with black sandals over his feet.

He walked out and quietly knelt down beside the boy. "Hello there. Why is such a young boy like yourself doing out here by yourself?" he asked. The boy sniffed softly before looking up, revealing red eyes lined thickly with black kohl that made Ryou think of a raccoon.

"I was alone by myself, in my village, Sunagakure. when I saw this portal open up. People already hated and feared me there and I have no friends. My tou-san doesn't care about me and my uncle, Yashamaru...I don't believe he really cares for me. So I went through and end up here but I felt so alone since there was nothing from as far as I could see." Said the boy softly.

"Why did the people fear and hate you?" Ryou asked again, moving closer and placing a hand over other other's for comfort. The boy raised a hand and from nowhere, strands of sand started to appear. "They fear me because of this. I have a demon within me called the Shukaku and since I was so young, they believe I can't control it so they feared me. Why they hate me...they just don't understand how hard it is to be this way..." he said before looking up to Ryou, expecting him to run just like everyone else. But he didn't, only moved to hug the boy who was shocked for this gesture but smiled and wrapped his arms around him, tears coming to his eyes again.

"Why don't you come back with me? You shouldn't be staying out here alone." Ryou said and the boy looked up to him. "You sure you won't mind? What about my powers?" he asked. "I don't see them as something to fear. You have good control over them as far as I see it and beside, you need friends and I know that me and my friends back at the temple will gladly be the friends you need." Ryou said and the boy smiled. "Thank you. What's your name?" he asked as they both stood. "I'm Ryou. And you are?"

"I'm Gaara." he answered, taking the other's pale hand. "Nice to meet you, Gaara." Ryou spoke before leading the six year old back to the temple.

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Asmodeous hit the ground, giving the first round the Jax and he stood up slowly, looking toward the other fighter. Jax gave a faint nod and so did Asmodeous before they started to next round. Both fighters blocked most attacks and gave a taste of their own but was finished the battle was a smash hit towards one of the hanging bells within the Bell Tower.

Jax winced, knowing it must've hurt the poor fighter's ears to be wearing that helmet and hitting a huge bell. Like predicted, Asmodeous' ears were ringing after the hit that he collapsed but moved slightly to show he wasn't unconscious which made the uneasiness Jax felt go away as he was declared the winner.

_'Glad I didn't hurt the guy too badly or else Yugi might throw a fit.'_ he thought as the portal opened and he walked out as Motaro went to pick up Asmodeous.

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Tanya watched the battle, hoping for some bloodshed with their newest fighter but saw that the fight was pathetic at most. _'I know that isn't that guy's true ability. He has to be much stronger than that and I'm going to find out why he didn't tear that fighter to pieces.'_ she thought as she stood and when Motaro and Asmodeous walked back in, Motaro leaving afterwards to report their losses to Shao Khan, she followed Asmodeous to Yami and Aqua's room. _'Now why is he going there?'_ she wondered as the door shut and she snuck over to the door quietly, pressing her ear against the door to hear muffled voices.

"You did well, Asmodeous. I know you might want to kill someone and honestly, so do I. But I rather kill someone from this team than anything else. Especially that little wench, Tanya." Aqua spoke and Tanya gulped slightly. She jumped though when she felt someone tap her shoulder and turned quickly to see Ruby standing there.

"And is there a reason why you're eavesdropping?" he questioned, eyes narrowed. "Because I'm going to find out something. Between you and some of the others, there's something hidden going on and I'm going to find out, tell Motaro and get you all on restricted promises that will make you battle to your fullest abilities." Tanya hissed.

Ruby's eyes narrowed before he took hold of her collar and pulled her close that their faces were nearly touching. "I'll make sure that you don't get a word out." he whispered and she gulped, feeling that the usually calm sphinx is going to keep true to that promise. (no, he didn't kill her. Bet you wish he would, though -grins-)

In the room, Aqua was tending to Asmodeous' head, seeing that he got a slight bump on the back of his head where his head hit his helmet after the impact upon the bell in the arena. "There. Maybe you should stop wearing this thing," he spoke, holding up the helmet. "But I won't blame you since it does protect your face from blows and flying objects when in battle. Now go ahead and rest. I'll bring you something to eat later and then we may have a little time afterwards to go and visit Yugi since I'll know he'll want to see how you're doing." Asmodeous nodded and went to lie down on his bed and once the other was asleep, Aqua left the room and headed downstairs, coming in just in time for Motaro to walk back in with a grim smile upon his face.

"I have some bad news for you all." he spoke and barked an order that was pretty much heard throughout the rest of the temple and everyone else but Asmodeous, Yami and Tanya walked in. "Where are the other three?" he demanded. "Yami's probably somewhere minding his own business, Tanya is also somewhere else and Asmodeous is asleep." Aqua spoke and Motaro only snorted.

"Alright then. You can relay this message to them then. I have came back from the Dimensional Gate and had a word with Shao Khan. He isn't pleased with our process so he has taken things into his hands. He may be trapped but that doesn't mean he won't let his punishments go from bad to worse. Seeing as our progress isn't going as well as he planned, he has set up this rule to go into effect immediately..." Motaro spoke and as he told them of the rule, seven pairs of eyes widened at the horror that will soon take place.

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Yugi smiled as Yami appeared from the shadows and ran over to the other, hugging him tight. "Hi, Yami! I missed you so much!" he said as he leaned up to place a small kiss upon the lips of his lover. "I missed you too, Yugi. Honestly, if I had my choice between fighting on the dark side and dealing with visiting you sparingly or join the earth side and being with you all day without problems, I'll take the latter." Yami said as he went to sit down on the bed, Yugi climbing up to sit beside him. "Then you should. I'm sure Raiden will happily take you in. Same with Aqua and anyone else who would rather be here." Yugi said as he snuggled up closer to the other.

"I just might."

"I'll be happy when you do."

They stayed there in silence, content with the calming presence that is always there when they are with one another but the peace was broken as a swirl of shadows appeared in front of them and Aqua's face appeared. "Yami, we have an emergency." he said and Yami looked to him. "What's wrong?"

"Shao Khan is really pissed and he gave us a new rule. From now on, all battles we're in shall contain a fatality. If not, the Motaro is given permission to kill us and if not him then Shang Tsung will and I have my suspicions about him and the other. Quan Chi I believe his name was." Aqua explained and Yugi gasped before looking to Yami. "Yami, what are you going to do?" he asked softly.

Yami was silent but a raging inferno burned in his eyes. "We're going to set my little suggestion into motion." Yugi's eyes widened and a smile started to creep upon his face. "You mean..." He nodded. "Yes. Ask Raiden to make some more room cause he's getting some new fighters."

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Yami returned back to the Dark Warriors' temple before nightfall and gathered everyone into his and Aqua's room to discuss the move. "I know you all heard of Shao Khan little rule to get us to obey and win this tournament for him so he can have control over Earth and any other worlds he could get his grimy hands on. I for one am not going to sit here and follow rules and risk the lives of the people I have considered as friends. So from here, I'm moving into the Earth Warriors temple and I know Aqua and Asmodeous will join me." They nodded and Yami looked over the others.

"Anyone else joining me cause we're leaving tonight. Once the sun disappears over the horizon."

And said time was coming closer for the sun was halfway in its descent. "I'm going." Seto spoke and Ruby nodded in his agreement. "Don't count me out. I still have some loose ends to tie up there." Crimson said. Marik, Toben and Bakura were silent. "Well?" Yami questioned, looking to them.

"Time is running out and once the shadow portal close, that is the last you will see of us except for in battles and don't expect us to go easy on you." They were still silent before Bakura left the room and they watched him go. "I guess he still wants power." Aqua whispered and sighed. "What about you two?" Marik looked down to the floor, wondering if this would be a good idea. _'Malik still hates me and although I have saved his life, he would never trust me.'_ he thought then looked up, nodding to Yami.

_'I will still go. Malik, I love you but for as long as we stay in the same place, I will avoid you so as to not cause trouble.'_ Toben looked to him, feeling that something was wrong but didn't question it as he gave the agreement to go. "I guess that's everybody." Yami whispered as he created the portal.

"Let's get going before someone finds out what we're doing." Yami said and they nodded as they walked through the portal that led to the sitting room of the Earth Temple and Yami looked behind him, as if to see Bakura walk back in but there was nothing and he sighed. _'So this is your choice then. So be it.'_ Yami thought as he walked through he portal and it started to close behind him.

Bakura ran back inside, holding the hand of the soul clone. "Where are we going?" asked the clone. "We're going to a new home and I'm going to return you back to Ryou." he said. "But...I thought you would still want me by your side." The clone whispered. "I know and I rather much like to but as long as we're there, its best you return. I was happy to have you by my side but now, its time for me to get the real Ryou." he said and the clone nodded as they leapt through the portal just before it closed completely as the sun disappeared over the horizon.

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Yugi waited in the sitting room for Yami, Aqua and possibly the others. A portal opened and he looked up to see Yami walk in with Seto, Aqua, Ruby, Asmodeous, Marik and Toben. Yugi stood and smiled to Yami. "Glad you're back. Raiden has rooms set up for you all. Follow me and I'll take you to them." They nodded and followed Yugi but Crimson turned when he heard someone else land right behind them.

"So Bakura, you decided to come after all." he spoke. "Like I really was going to stay behind and be forced to do things I don't want to do. Yeah right." he said. "But right now, I have some other things to attend to." he continued, taking the soul clone with him but made sure it was close behind him so no one on the Earth warrior team would notice him.

After leading them all to their rooms, Yugi headed back to his own with Yami and Aqua. Once they were in the solitude of his room, he turned and bounded to Aqua, wrapping his arms around his neck and giving him a small kiss. "I'm so glad you two decided to stay. We can finally be together without you two worrying about threats made to you just for seeing me." Yugi said and Aqua smiled.

"Surely enough, we should've thought of this in the first place but that may have cause more mayhem and more chances of Sheeva or Motaro putting more effort to kill you once they found out we were with you." Yami said as he nuzzled the other's cheek lightly.

"Well, the good thing is, you're here with me now and we can make sure this tournament ends sooner than before." Yugi said, reaching over to Yami and wrapping his arms around his neck and Yami pulled him from Aqua's embrace and carried him over to the bed. He laid down, letting Yugi rest upon his chest and smiled as the other buried his face into his chest, sighing happily. "We will always be here for you now and with us on your side, there is nothing the Dark warriors can do to stop us."

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Gaara was in a state of rest, telling the older teen that he couldn't fall asleep for fear of the demon within him eating away at whatever it wished, upon Ryou's bed and the boy smiled down, running a hand through his hair lightly. "Poor boy. You suffered through so much where you came from. I wonder if Raiden could help you out in someway? At least to suppress the demon within you more so you could actually sleep." he whispered. Diamond walked in and he looked up, smiling to her as she walked over to the bed. "Is he asleep?" she asked.

"No. He can't really sleep because he worries about what the demon can do while he's sleeping. So he's goes into a state of rest to regain energy." Ryou explained and she nodded. Gaara whimpered softly in his sleep and Diamond walked over to the edge of the bed, rubbing his back. "Shh, it's alright. They're not here to harm you now. Your real friends are here with you now." she whispered and the boy smiled, calming down at her soothing voice and opened his eyes to look up to her.

"Hi, Diamond-chan." he said as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Have a good rest?" she asked. He nodded and looked to Ryou who yawned. "You should sleep, Ryou-kun. It is late. Sorry for taking up your bed." he said as he held his arms up for Diamond to pick him up which she did.

"It's alright, Gaara. You were trying to keep yourself awake and you needed the rest. I just wish you could go to sleep for real instead of taking these small rest." Ryou said as he sat down on the bed. "I hope for that too." Gaara whispered softly before saying goodnight to the other and Diamond walked out of the room, leaving the other boy with the silence of his room. After they were gone, Ryou went to sleep, never noticing the dark brown eyes watching him from the shadows.

_'Hopefully soon, we will be together.'_ Bakura thought as he bound the soul clone to the rest of Ryou's soul, after saying a final goodbye to him, and then left the room to head back to his own.

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Back at the Dimensional Gate, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi were working their magic to break the seal and soon, a bright flash erupted from the gate and the silhouette of Shao Khan appeared in the light before it faded and the other warrior smirked. "Glad you thought of this. Now its time to take this tournament into my hands." he whispered and the other two wizards nodded before following Shao Khan back to the temple.

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Zypher: There, that's all for this chapter and yes, Gaara, from Naruto for those that possibly never heard of him before, is making his guest appearance into here and possibly other stories soon enough. Why? Because I just feel so sad for the past he went through, and only at the age of six. Father binds the Shukaku to him at his birth which killed his mother, the village he lives in fear and hates him which makes him an outcast. The only person that seemingly care for him turns on him and tries to assassinate him. Pretty harsh past and he just needs someone to hug him and make him feel better and who else than the gentle hikaris of the YGO crew?

So in any case, you will be seeing him more often, either at the ages of 6 or 13 (in the case of this story, he will be passed on into the sequel as well so there will be a huge time skip and he'll be 15 then and also a little ooc when it comes to him being 13 since he much more solitary at that age but more info, and spoilers if you want to read them, can be found at wikipedia), so give him a warm welcome.

Also, me don't own him but I really wish he was real so I could take care of him -cries for the pain Gaara went through-. Anywho, hoped you enjoyed and I'll see you soon. Last thing, if you have any ideas for a birthday one shot for Jou, send them in. Need then fast and if you all can't give me one before Wednesday, I'll see what I can come up with and if not, then there might not be one for him this year but I'll try my best to get one out for him if I can.


	21. Resume the Tournament

Zypher: Well, thanks to a little help from Red Dragon of Egypt, I finally suppressed the evil writer's block -points to a panther wearing a sign reading evil writer's block- so I could get a chapter done. Now, just need to get it out of the lemon pool -points to pool filled with lemons in which the writer's block was eating- so I can get some lemons done since I know you all must be waiting for me to put another chapter up for Yami no Game: Dark Saga. -turns to panther- Hey! Get your buns out of my pool! -panther doesn't listen-

-huffs before turning back to devoted readers- Tempted to skip the lemon for it but that would be downright evil of me to do so I'll try to get to that as soon as possible. Anywho, thanks for all the responses for the last chapter and here's another for you all. And before I forget, don't know exactly how many battles I'll put him in before the sequel but in any case, here's a short bio for Gaara.

Gaara

Fatality - Traps opponent in Desert Coffin before using Desert Funeral. In any case of more than one, he'll pour all his chakra to using Desert Waterfall (aka Quicksand in the Style of a Waterfall) then Desert Imperial Funeral right after.

Babality - None

Animality - Tanuki aka Raccoon dog (calls upon reserves of sand and crushes opponent, making a gory mess upon the field. Afterwards, the sand soaks up the blood of the defeated opponent to feed the Shukaku)

Friendship - None

Bio - Hated and feared in his own village, he stumbled across a portal, taking him to the Outworld. He thought he wouldn't make friends there but after meeting the group of Earth warriors, not only does he find a way to sate the blood lust of the living Shukaku spirit but also friends he can trust and help without them fearing him.

Now that we got that settled, enjoy the chapter. -grabs equipment and drags Jou to help her with the panther in the pool-

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 20

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At the Dark Warriors' temple, Reptile looked about, knowing it was much more quieter than usual. He paused by Yami and Aqua's room and looked within, seeing that the door was unlocked, and gasped softly. _'Where could they be?'_ he wondered, tongue flicking out to taste the air and caught a faint twinge of Yami's power still hovering through the air like a dulled buzz._ 'They left but where?'_ he wondered once more before remembering something.

The battle with the young warrior, Yugi, and Aqua's interference before he could cause major damage to him._ 'And now the rule from Shao Khan. I'm guessing after hearing it, they decided to switch sides. And with most of the power there, I best not stay here either.'_ Reptile thought and walked over to the window, opening it and leapt out. He landed gracefully onto the forest ground below before taking his leave.

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Later that night, the group of Dark Warriors gathered into the sitting room along with the Earth Warriors and Raiden appeared before them, looking to them all with a mute gaze. "As you can see, young warriors of the Earth, we have gained some new warriors to our side. They had enough with the rules of Shao Khan and now that they're here, I want you to treat them with the same respect you treat your usual team members." Raiden spoke and they nodded.

He left once more, leaving them to speak amongst themselves. Jax and Sonya quietly yet calmly spoke to Yami and Aqua who was curled up on the couch with Yugi while Marik stood within the shadows of the corner, watching as Malik spoke silently with Toben.

He looked up and his gaze caught his and he looked down. "You should go and see him." Toben whispered and Malik turned to him. "I don't know what's wrong, since we usually tell each other if there's something wrong, but I think that since he helped you once before, you can help him." Malik looked back to Marik before nodding and walked over to him. "Hey, Marik. Long time, no see." Malik greeted once he was next to the stoic teen. Marik only nodded. "I know something's wrong, I can see it. Mind telling me what it is."

"No. It's nothing to concern yourself about, Malik. Go and speak with the others." Marik whispered as he pushed himself away from the wall and started making his way up the stairs back to his room. "Wait, hold on a sec! Marik!" Malik called but the other didn't listen. Malik watched him leave up the stairs before sighing. _'What's wrong, Marik? Usually you're the psychotic fighter with a good heart but now...'_

"Go to him." Malik turned to Aqua, the one who spoke. "What?"

"Go to him. He may not have said it out loud but I have a keen sense about people's emotions. He loves you more than words can express but he knows that after previous displays, even after saving your life, he thinks that you still hate him. You need to prove to him that you don't or else he'll keep away from you for the rest of the tournament. You don't want that now, do you?" he explained and Malik shook his head.

"No. I don't want that at all."

"Then go to him." Malik didn't need to think twice and quickly ran up the stairs and towards Marik's room.

Yugi smiled and hugged Aqua around his waist, getting a sigh of glee from Sonya. "That is definitely too cute. Just seeing this makes you think they aren't that dangerous as you think." Sonya said, nudging Jax who chuckled, nodding as well. "Yeah, it does, but I believe Yugi when he says they're dangerous. You can just see it in their eyes." Jax added.

She nodded in agreement before hearing a knock at the door and went to see what was coming by the temple so late. When she opened it, she was in for a surprise and brought out her weapons quickly in preparation for an attack.

"Wait! I'm not here to fight. I'm here to join with you." Reptile spoke. She was still hesitant but lowered her weapons a fraction. "And what brought this change of sides? I can understand Yami and the others but not you."

"Becausssse, if it wasssn't for Aqua'sss ssshow at sssaving Yugi from my attack in the battle I wasss in with him, I would never know what danger I could be thrown into by going againssst him or Yami." he explained.

"Let him in. He's good." Aqua said, standing behind Sonya. She jumped when she heard him so close behind her but nodded and moved out the way, letting Reptile walk in. Reptile did so and bowed before Aqua. "Massster Aqua. Anything you wisssh of me to do?" he asked. "Just fight with everything you have in these next battles. This time, we aren't holding back." he said and Reptile nodded before they left for the sitting room and Sonya followed behind after closing the door. Soon, they all headed for bed but they never knew what was brewing back at the Dark Warriors' temple.

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"Where are the rest of the fighters!" Shao Khan demanded. "Knowing Yami and Aqua, they probably switched over to the side of good after hearing about your new rule. Probably convince some of the others to go with them too." Tanya said. Shao Khan growled, slamming a fist into a wall which literally demolished it. "Fine. If that's how they want to play this game, then no need to hold back. All of you, during tomorrow battles, show no mercy. If need be, we'll create a team specifically for infiltrating into the Earth warriors' temple and killing whoever you find." he announced and the remaining fighters nodded.

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The next day, Shao Khan wasn't fooling around and sent every able fighter up against those that were once part of his team. "Yami, you're up against Motaro." he nodded and stood and right before their eyes, wings, claws and a tail appeared on his form. They could literally see the power the poured from his body and for those that went up against him before were glad that he was together with Yugi or else this tournament may have ended long ago. "Don't give mercy, love." Yugi whispered as the reformed demon walked out behind Raiden.

"Well, let's watch the battle although we all know who will win. And afterwards, we may have to take a stop at the portal when Yami leaves." Keara said as she and Yugi sat down upon the couch. "Why's that?" he asked. "Because, if Yami unleashes the partial potential he has over the Black Magics, he will literally become an emotionless demon. White Magics soothes the Black Magics so you'll need to be around so you can suppress the Black Magics for another time." she explained and he nodded.

"But I have a question, what do you mean by partially? I thought he released all the potential possible with his Black Magics." Yugi asked.

"He hasn't yet. He has exceptional control and so do I but there is much more power sealed that even we can't access. And the same goes for you. We have unearthed your White Magics but there are many more secrets hidden that can only be unlocked by a skilled magician. Or a sorceress." Aqua spoke, looking over to Keara who nodded. Soon, after opening a portal to see the battle which was hosted on the Meteor Storm arena, they watched as the fight commenced.

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Yami snarled angrily, pawing at the ground with sharp claws. After given the signal, both didn't waste time in attacking the other, giving claw marks and hoof scuffs upon their forms. After a harsh charge, Motaro toppled Yami over but the other was quick to get back up, standing on all fours and looking like a predator that has caught sight of its prey. In the background, various meteors fell and impacted the ground constantly, giving the arena its name but none were phased by the small passes of earthquakes due to them, only focused on destroying the other completely.

As soon as another wave from another impacted meteor passed their feet, they charged towards the other, Yami leaping up and fangs embedded into the flesh of Motaro's neck, causing him to cry out and tried to shake him of, rearing up in hopes to dislodge him. But Yami held on, adding claws into play as blood dripped onto the arena. After a while, Yami planted his feet onto the ground and released his mouth from Motaro's neck but then tightened the grip his claws had and lifted him with ease.

Swinging around, he tossed Motaro into one of the standing urns that contained flames to light the mountainous stage. Motaro hit it with great force, luckily only knocking the urn over the side which fell quite a ways, disappearing under the hoards of clouds a few meters beneath the stage. The first round went to Yami and he smirked, blood red eyes gazing down at his determined prey.

A click of hooves signaled Motaro standing back up and once he was situated and ready for battle again, they were given the signal to start the next round.

Motaro charged in once again, head down and pointed, curled horns in position to impale. Yami stood his ground, waiting for him to get close enough and when he was, he shot out, grabbing Motaro by the horns and although sliding back, he was able to stop his charge. Motaro snarled, putting more force into it so he could at least knock Yami down but he held firm.

He then smirked, raising up the steel plated tail and a red ball of energy gathered at the tip before shooting out, catching Yami off guard and he was flung back, hitting another urn upon the stage and knocking it off.

He hissed angrily, shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness from the forceful fireball shot at him. He looked to Motaro before another grin spread across his he stood, placing himself close to the edge of the stage. Forgetting momentarily that Yami had wings that were closed tight on his back, Motaro charged again, hoping to charge him right off the stage and ending it.

But before he could connect, Yami dived off the side and he slid to a stop looking for the other over the edge. He snorted in success and backed away, missing the beat of wings behind him and snarled as a ball of magic hit his back. He turned, seeing Yami there with another ball of magic in hand, grinning still.

Snorting, he charged forward, tail raised and tossing ball after ball of fire, trying to hit Yami. Yami did the same, merely gliding away from most fireballs and tossing his own ball of magic to nullify any others. With another snort, Motaro trotted over, grabbing hold of another urn and tossed up towards Yami. Yami growled and readied his tail. As it got closer, Yami gave a roar as he slammed his tail at the urn, making a metallic ring as the strong plated scales contacted with the steaming hot metal of the urn, and sent it back towards Motaro, flame first.

Motaro roared in anguish, urn landing over his head, causing flames and ashes to encompass his head and he stumbled, trying to remove the urn but Yami, being cheeky, landed right on the urn, his weight preventing Motaro from removing it. Thrashing about only for a moment longer, he finally stopped, collapsing onto the arena and Yami gave a snort of victory as he leapt off, the match being declared to him.

Luckily, Motaro was still alive but was scorched beyond reason.

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"Well, we better get to the portal." Keara said and Yugi nodded as he stood and left with her, both quickly making their way to the portal just as Yami walked out. Yami's eyes narrowed, gaze trained on Shao Khan who was quite peeved that not only did he lost Motaro for a good few days but he also lost a strong member of his team.

"You may be on the side of good now but soon, you'll be trailing right back to the dark side." Shao Khan whispered and Yami would've lunged at him if he didn't hear his name being called and turned to see Yugi and Keara standing there. Raiden clearly stood out of the way of the semi-reckless demon so he wouldn't be attacked.

Yugi walked forward and so did Yami, Black Magics being suppressed with each step closer until they were fully suppressed, other than the trace of it that Yami used on other occasions, when Yugi wrapped his arms around him. "Great fight, koi." Yugi whispered, unaware of Shao Khan plotting not far from them after dragging Motaro's form from the stage before the portal closed.

_'So, that little runt of a warrior is what caused me to lose my potentially best warrior. Well, I'll just get rid of him and make a deal with Yami that I can bring him back if he promises to stay on the Dark Warriors' side afterwards with no hopes of returning back to the side of the earth.'_ Shao Khan thought before walking off.

But the look of plotting wasn't ignored as Keara snarled angrily, knowing that Shao Khan was planning something and that mostly have to deal with Yugi._ 'Well, he won't be able to stand a chance once Yami, Yugi and Aqua get their full power over the Black and White Magics.'_ she thought before she, Yami, Raiden and Yugi started on their way back to the temple.

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After a 20 minute recess, the next match started and Diamond was ready to strut her stuff on the arena once again. "Be careful, Diamond-san. I don't want you to be hurt." Gaara whispered as he watched her prepare for the next battle, gathering her bow and arrows. "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to me. A few scratches here and there but I promise that's all you'll be seeing." she said, tying up her long silver hair into a small Chinese bun. Gaara nodded and gave her a small hug. "One day, I hope to fight in a battle just like the rest of you." he whispered and she pat his head fondly.

"You may be young but I'm sure that you can join in a battle and win." He nodded before letting go and walked over to Jou who gave him a small rustle of his hair before they went to sit down. Crimson walked over next and she turned to him, gaze a little cold from what happened the last time. "Do well, Diamond." he whispered. She was silent for a moment before nodding. Taking a bold step, he moved forward, kissing her cheek lightly and she flushed slightly, getting a small smirk from him before he went to sit next to Bakura who teased him. "Ready, Diamond?" Raiden asked and she nodded.

Soon, they both left for her battle against Mileena.

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Diamond sulked as she walked back in, a few wounds marring her form, signaling her lost against Mileena. "Man, she a powerful bitch." she muttered as Gaara ran over to her, asking if she was alright from her wounds. "I'm fine, Gaara-chan. Keara can heal some of these cuts and bruises for me" He nodded, looking up as Keara walked over to do just as she said. "Why don't you go and play with Mokuba for a while. Diamond will be fine." Keara spoke and he nodded, dashing off to find the slightly older child.

Keara started her task of healing her wounds before Diamond wen to rest on the couch, getting a few praises from the others for her match. "One of these days, she will be killed. I put my money on Yami or Aqua for what happened before." Diamond spoke and Jou agreed with her. She looked around the group before spotting two were missing other than Gaara and Mokuba.

"Hey, where's Malik and Marik?" she asked, looking to the other team members. "I think they took a walk. To patch things up with one another." Toben spoke and she nodded, relaxing now as they waited for the next recess to pass before the next match.

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Zypher: There, and that's the end of this chapter. I feel like this was a filler but when you have that little bugger, -points to panther who still lounging in the pool and Jou who was trying to grab it with a net- gnawing at your ankles, I feel as I did what I could but there will be some fluff and also Keara's turn to kill off another annoyance in the next chapter.

Anyways, hoped you enjoyed the chapter and yes, surprise mentioning of Mokuba. Looked through the list of fighters I had at the beginning and remembered I added him in but forgot about him. Since he's young, I'll put him under the 'not able to fight without suffering major wounds' category for now but possibly in the sequel, you'll see him fighting more often. Now, again, hoped you enjoyed and I'll see you another time. -grabs a stretch claw big enough to grab the panther and went back to help Jou.-


	22. Shao Khan's Warning

Zypher: Hi all and welcome to another chapter to Challenge of the Kombat. I hoped you all enjoyed the last chapter and here's another battle filled chapter for you all.

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 21

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After a few more battles, with more wins upon the side of good, they were done for the day and everyone had some time to relax. In his room, Yugi sat in his bed with Yami lying down beside him. "Yami, do you think we should ask Keara to bring out our full potential with the White and Black Magics?" he asked, looking down to him. "We should but we should first train our bodies and minds before we unleash such great power. I don't want you to be overwhelmed." Yami replied, opening cerise eyes to look up to him.

Yugi nodded and stood up. "I'm going to go and find Aqua. Would you like me to bring something back for you?" Yami declined the offer. "I'm in need of a meal but I'll have to go and hunt for it. It may be a while since there could be virtually no one around the Outworld other than us and those on the Dark Warriors." Yugi nodded before leaving the room to search for Aqua. He greeted Gaara and Mokuba as he came past them. "Hey, have any of you seen Aqua lately?" he asked.

"He said he was heading out to the back to meditate and train his mind." Gaara replied.

He thanked him before leaving out to the back, seeing Aqua in the grass, eyes closed and aura brimming with his relaxed state. He smiled to him as he moved over to him with silent steps and once he was beside the dragon, he sat down next to him. He smiled more as Aqua's tail came to rest around his waist and crimson eyes opened to look to him.

"Good evening, Yugi. What brings you out here?"

"I came to look for you. So, were you training to be ready for the full potential of your Black Magics?" he asked and Aqua nodded. "Yes. We may need them more than ever now with Shao Khan's wrath upon us now. Would you like to join me?" Yugi nodded in agreement and Aqua told him of what to do.

"Just relax your mind and soul. Picture whatever you wish and fall into a deep state of relaxation where nothing would disturb you. Not even the sound of a gunshot ringing through your ears." Aqua whispered and Yugi nodded, doing as he was told. It took him a few failed tries before he was finally relaxed enough to fall into a quiet trance. In his mind's eye, he pictured a beautiful field brimming with wildflowers of various colors and variations.

The sweet summer breeze blew past him as he sat within the field. He smiled as he let the wind brush by him like a gentle caress. He didn't know how long he was there but he was soon awakened by a soft jolt from Aqua's Black Magics and he looked up to him, seeing that it was night time now.

"You did well for your first time, Yugi. Keep that up and you'll have your mind trained well enough to harness the strain from the full potential of the White Magics." Yugi nodded, smiling up to him as he was helped up by Aqua and they both returned into the temple for dinner.

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Later that night, Yugi heard someone roaming the halls and brought out his Light Sword as he got up from his bed and walked to the door. He opened it and looked around the dark corridor before spotting a figure further down the hall. "Who's there?" he called, stepping out the room. The figure turned and Yugi soon saw an outline of the familiar pyramid helmet of Asmodeous. "Oh, Asmodeous. What are you doing up so late?" he asked softly as he walked over to the still figure. He pointed even further down the hall and he has to strain his hearing to hear the soft clopping of hooves and knew it could be only one person that could've had those footsteps.

_'Motaro. Now why would he be snooping around? Unless...'_ he thought and took Asmodeous' hand and ran further down the hall to confront the intruder. When they spotted him, he was inching closer to the room where Aqua stayed and shot a quick bolt of light energy at his feet, causing him to rear up before he turned to them. "I see I wasn't silent as I hoped." he muttered to himself before staring down the young fighter. "Head back to your room, runt. You're not wanted here."

"And neither are you. What are you planning?" Yugi hissed, keeping an hand on Asmodeous' arm to keep him from attacking without getting the information he wanted. "It's none of your business. I'm here on strict orders from Shao Khan and you don't need to know if it unless you force it out of me." Motaro spoke, glaring at the smaller teen.

"Then I guess we will. Ready, Asmodeous?" Yugi asked and the other nodded, slinging the Great Knife that was perched upon his shoulder off, ready for battle. "This time, we won't let you live unless I deem it so." Yugi whispered as he and Asmodeous charged for the minotaur who slung a few fireballs at them but they dodged them easily, Yugi firing a bolt of light from his sword and Asmodeous leaving a thin gash along his chest.

Motaro screeched in pain, backing away for a moment before charging in in, ready to give them a strong charge that would knock them far. But he halted and stepped back, just barely missing being sliced longways from Asmodeous. _'The boy is the least of my worries. I'll have to watch out more from the Pyramid Head than anything.'_ he thought. Yugi charged in again, weapon glowing brightly and was ready to slash him when he grabbed him. He lifted Yugi up easily and grinned.

"You're the least of my worries but I'm sure that Shao Khan has something planned for you since you were the reason we lost our best fighters." Motaro hissed.

"I'm not the one who caused them all to come. They have minds of their own and they can choose the path they wished to follow. If they wanted to come here to escape Shao Khan's rule then we welcome them with open arms." Yugi murmured and Motaro growled before slugging the younger which caused him to fly far, a growing bruise starting to appear on his upper chest. He was glad for one thing and that was the fact the punch didn't crush his ribcage. Asmodeous quickly dropped his knife and ran for Yugi, grabbing him and looked him over.

He smiled up to the concerned fiend and nodded. "I'm alright, Asmodeous." He heard Motaro trying to make a run for the room he was heading to and told Asmodeous to let him down and go after him. He did as he was told and stroking the place where Motaro hit, he ran for the running minotaur, catching up to him easily and tackling him down, Great Knife held in one hand and hacking at the metal plated tail.

Motaro roared in anger and pain as he tried to heave the other off of him body but Asmodeous kept him down, hacking off the tail which squirmed before stopping. That brought a screech from the minotaur and Asmodeous stood, watching as blood pooled from the wound and onto the floor. The scent of blood awoken Aqua and he stood at the doorway, glaring as the writhing beast before him before looking to Asmodeous and Yugi who walked over to them slowly.

"What's going on?" he whispered, a hint of death lining his voice as he stared at Motaro. "He was here in the hall. Asmodeous heard him wandering around, which woke me up also, and he was aiming for your room. We didn't get any answers from him so we fought to try and get it out of him." Yugi placed a hand over the bruise that was surely on his chest right now. "He got me pretty good but Asmodeous gone and hacked his tail off but we still haven't got anything from him."

Aqua nodded with understanding before walking out of the room, lifting the minotaur and gazed into his eyes. "What were you up to? Did Shao Khan sent you?" he snorted before nodding. "Yes, but I'm never telling you why!"

"Easily understandable since I know why. Keara told me of the look Shao Khan sent to Yugi after the battle earlier today and thinks that he blames Yugi solely for losing both me and Yami because he has some interest in our demonic power. I'm not happy with it and I'm assuming you were coming to either get information from us on why we left, try and bring us back or take Yugi. All three which I'm not happy about. Worse enough, you dare hurt Yugi outside of battle. This is where your reign ends." He smirked.

"And to think, I thought you would still be out of it after the battle you had with Yami." Aqua raised one hand and it opened up a portal where snarls and growls could be heard. "I know, I know. I would've gave you a meal with Anzu but she was already a meal for the piranhas. But you can have more meat from him." The snarls sounded like ones of approval and Aqua nodded before looking down to Motaro.

"Let this be a lesson to you for the afterlife. No one messes with Yugi or its your life for crossing us." he hissed before tossing Motaro into the portal and screeches were heard from the minotaur as he was ripped apart by the Ancient Dragons within the portal. Aqua closed the portal before turning to Yugi. "Are you alright?" he asked. "A little. I know there's a definite bruise from where Motaro punched me but I'm alright no less. Asmodeous took over much of the battle." Yugi replied.

Aqua nodded before asking Yugi to show him where it hurt and he pointed to it. Aqua placed a hand over the bruise, seeing Yugi wince lightly before a dark mist wrapped around his hands, the Black Magics mixed with his demon magic healing the bruise til all was left was pale skin devoid of the marring bruise. Yugi smiled to him and took his hand, placing a light kiss on the palm, thanking him.

"No problem. Can't have my love hurt." he said before looking to Asmodeous. "Why don't you head back to your room, Asmodeous? I thank you for helping Yugi." Asmodeous nodded before leaving back to his room. Aqua asked if Yugi wished to stay with him and he agreed, disappearing into Aqua's room while Aqua took the hacked-off tail and sent to to Shao Khan as a warning to not mess with them.

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Shao Khan growled angrily as the tail dropped in front of him. "Looks like they won't come back so easily. Quan Chi! Shang Tsung! Come here _**now**_!" he bellowed and the two wizards appeared before him. "What do you need of us?" Quan Chi asked.

"Quan Chi, I want you to battle the boy named Yugi tomorrow. Make him be fated to your fatality. Shang Tsung, I want you to start off the next round for tomorrow with someone from their team. Injure them greatly and say that was a warning from me that I won't take things lightly. The Earth Warriors will die and it will be a sweet victory for the Dark warriors, with or without the warriors we have recruited." They nodded and Shao Khan dismissed them. "Soon, the earth will be mine and I will destroy those that stand in my way."

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The next day, everyone was eating breakfast quietly while waiting in anticipation for the next round of so much force of their side, there was no possible way they could lose. Raiden walked in, looking to them all. "The battles have been chosen and this may be your toughest yet. Kaiser, you shall be up against Shang Tsung and Yugi, you will going against Quan Chi." Yami looked up when he heard Quan Chi and started to growl. _'Damn you, Shao Khan. You will pay for this with your blood.'_

After breakfast, it was about 30 minutes before the first battle was underway and Kaiser left out with Raiden to head to the portal and the awaiting stage which was Botan Jungle. _'Be careful, Kaiser.'_ Ruby thought as Yami and Aqua took Yugi out to the back. "Why aren't we going to watch the battle?" Yugi asked, "Because, I know Shao Khan planned this. If anything, he is planning to have Quan Chi kill you as warning to us for betraying him. I don't want that so we're going to see how far we can get you into training.

"If we can get you far enough to be able to use the full potential of the White Magics then we can get Keara to bring them out. If not, you will do your best and we'll be there to help when things get too dangerous." Yugi nodded to Yami's words and they started with their training as Kaiser tried his best to survive the battle with Shang Tsung.

It was at least twenty minutes that Yami and Aqua trained Yugi before before Ruby's cry of outrage was heard. Feeling apprehensive, the trio ran back inside to see what happened. "No, Kaiser!" The male cried. "He'll be fine, Ruby. He'll be back and we'll heal him. No need to worry." Diamond said, rubbing his shoulder.

"I'll kill him! I'll kill Shang Tsung!"

"What happened?" Yugi asked, looking to them. On cue, the door opened and in walked Raiden with a heavily bleeding Kaiser.

Yugi held a hand to his mouth in horror as he watched Raiden walk by, placing him on the couch which started to become stained with his blood and Ruby knelt down to him, still crying as he held his hand in his. "Please, Kaiser. Wake up. Please wake up. I need you." he cried.

Diamond and Keara quickly got to work, sealing the deadly wounds and did what they could to restore blood into Kaiser's body. Yugi watched as they did what measure they could to heal him and turned to Yami and Aqua who looked to Kaiser and then down to him. "Guess Shao Khan is doing everything to destroy us. Be careful in your battle, Yugi." Yami whispered before kneeling down to him. "Don't die on us. Don't let that happen, Yugi. We don't know what would happen to us if you died out there."

"I promise. I'm not going to leave you two so soon. Just promise you'll be there to help when I start struggling in this battle." They nodded and Yugi place a soft kiss upon each of their cheeks before sitting down, there being a 15 minute interval before his battle. They sat next to him, watching Kaiser as he rested, Ruby still having tears coursing down his face but was mumbling how he would kill the one that caused such damage to Kaiser.

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Zypher: And there you have it. Battle starting to heat up as Shao Khan sends out the forces that can deal more damage than they think. Hoped you enjoyed and will be eagerly waiting for the next chapter. See you later.

Stages:

Botan Jungle: This region of danger is known as the 'Botan Jungle'. Beware of the many traps that await the unwary (part of stage history file from Gamefaqs. Go there if you every want any other information on other stages from all of the Mortal Kombat games (except for Shaolin Monks as far as I know.)


	23. Unannounced Rise of Power

Zypher: Well, here we are. Glad you all enjoyed the last chapter so here's another one in your face. Hope you enjoy.

Random important note: Again, me don't own the idea of Black and White Magics. They belong solely to the wonderful mind of Princess Nefertari AKA Krysta (who has great stories. **_You must go read now!_**). My mind could never come up with such a nice concept of magic so well thought out

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Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 22

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Yugi was a little wary with going into this battle but knew he had to be strong. If he wasn't, he knew that one false move might get him killed by Quan Chi. Soon, the 15 minutes were up and Yugi stood, ready to follow Raiden when he was jerked back by Yami. "I'll be fine, Yami. Just watch." he whispered. "I know. But for the record," Yami brought him forwards and gives him a very deep kiss, making Bakura fake gag in the corner but was slapped by Diamond, before releasing him. "I don't want this to be our last moment together that we kissed."

"Sap!" Bakura called and was slapped again. "Will you cut that out?" Gets slapped again. "Not until you be nice. This is a life or death situation for Yugi and I don't know how often you see Yami or Aqua pissed and you might see it now if Yugi dies in this battle. Give them their moment in case the worse comes to happen." Diamond explained and Bakura grumbled to himself but flinched when Diamond raised a hand in preparation to hit him again.

Yugi looked to Yami and Aqua as he walked out with Raiden before the door shut quietly behind him and he sighed, looking up to Raiden. "What should I do, Raiden? I'm getting too worked up over me dying out there on the battlefield." Yugi whispered as they started for the portal.

"Yugi, all you need to do is focus on the fight and the people that are waiting for you afterwards. Don't worry about how strong Quan Chi could be. Just fight to your fullest." Raiden spoke and Yugi nodded. The walk was silent after his words of wisdom until they reached the portal where Quan Chi waited, a grin on his pale face. "So, this is the little brat I'm to go against. This should be easy." He then looked up to Raiden. "The stage was chosen by Shao Khan. He said that he wants it to be his arena. He sits there now, ready to observe this boy's demise."

"He won't die. I assure you that he possess more strength than you know." Raiden spoke before placing a hand on Yugi's shoulder, giving a firm squeeze of reassurance before removing it and started back for the temple. Yugi watched him go before he walked into the portal with Quan Chi trailing behind him with a devil's smirk on his face.

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"The bastard has his own arena? Guess he was well know in his little empire, wasn't he?" Marik spoke as the two combatant came onto the field and a few words were spoken by Shao Khan that made Yami's blood boil. _'Yugi won't die. I know of it. He will win and prove you wrong.'_ he thought. Soon, the battle started and both charged in, Yugi with his Light Sword and Quan Chi waiting at the other end, ready with his Escrima moveset. Yugi swung his sword but Quan Chi kicked it forcefully, knocking it out of his hands and he gasped. He gave pained sounds as Quan Chi started to easily pummel him with powerful right and left hooks before giving a mighty uppercut that flung him to the other side of the arena.

From his throne that was placed there, Shao Khan smirked deviously as he watched the younger be easily taken over in power by the sorcerer. A few more jabs and Yugi was already bruised and bleeding. He panted harshly as he glared at Quan Chi before dashing off back to his sword and grabbed it, turning quickly to send a beam of light at him. But his eyes widened as the beam was easily flicked off. "This isn't possible..."

"Oh, but it is, little runt. You're powers are no match for mine." Quan Chi spoke as he started for the diminutive teen. Yugi dropped his sword, fearing the worst now.

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"No! Yugi!" Yami cried as he tried to free himself from Ruby's grip but he held strong. "You can't save him, Yami!" he hissed, now holding onto his tail and still trying to keep him back. "He needs me! Now!"

"But, Yami, this could all be a trap along with a warning. Shao Khan's there and if you showed up, he might try and capture you and force you back onto his side for Yugi's safety." Keara spoke. Yami stopped and lowered his head. Ruby let him go and back up, making sure that the other won't run now that he was free.

"Yami?" Aqua asked softly but his eyes widened as he saw Yami's shoulders starting to shake. His fists were clenched tight, blood spilling from his hands from the claws digging into them. Another anguished cry came from Yugi on screen and he let the tears fall as he ran.

"Yami?" Nearly everyone shouted as he ran up the stairs and to his room. "I'm hopeless! I can't even save Yugi unless I want to make a decision that I'm going to regret!" he cried, praying now that Yugi would come back alive.

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The second round was on and again, Quan Chi was easily taking Yugi down and the other Earth warriors worried about what might happen. Shao Khan smirked as Yugi was tossed to the ground after a particularly hard blow from Quan Chi and he struggled to stand again. "This is the end for you, boy. Quan Chi, finish him!" Shao Khan shouted from his throne.

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Yami came back downstairs, adverting his eyes away from the portal that still showed the battle but when he heard Shao Khan's final words, he was on high alert. "No..." He saw Quan Chi walking over to Yugi and his eyes widened before flaring out his wings and ran towards the kitchen, hopping out the window and straight into the air, flapping quickly to the portal, having the dreading feeling in his heart that he knew what was going to happen if he doesn't get there in time.

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He lifted Yugi onto his feet and grinned as he easily hopped onto his shoulders, his weight not causing Yugi to collapse as he grabbed a firm hold over his head. "Time for you to die." Yugi hissed as Quan Chi started pulling upward, ready to use his Daemon Rip fatality upon the boy. "No...I'm not going to let you." Yugi growled, fighting against him and trying to loosen his grip to knock him off but he held strong. "You can't win, boy. You're too weak to do a thing now. Just accept your loss and die!" Quan Chi hissed.

Yugi growled, chanting no like a mantra. This went on for a while longer before his eyes opened wide, now a blinding white.

_**"NO!"**_

Quan Chi hissed as a blinding light started to erupt from Yugi's being. "Yugi!" Yami called, flying down towards the growing light. _'But it can't be...! He couldn't have on his own!'_ he thought, recognizing the power.

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Everyone in both the Earth and Dark temples covered their eyes. The portal of thunder cracked like it was made of glass before shattering into millions of tiny sparks. After the portal to the battle shattered and the blinding light was gone, they all looked up. "What just happened?" Jou asked, looking to everyone in the room. "Yugi...Yugi just released the true potential of the White Magics. All on his own." Keara whispered.

"But how? Only the strongest of mages could release the full power of the Black and White Magics. And worse enough, Yugi's body and mind can't handle all that power." Aqua spoke.

"If that's true, then what happened to him after that outburst of power?" Diamond questioned, making all worry about the well being of the small fighter.

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"Double KO." The voice spoke as Yami landed, holding Yugi's exhausted form. "Yugi? Yugi, wake up!" Yami pleaded, not caring that Shao Khan was walking over to the fallen Quan Chi although his gaze was on Yugi. _'That boy...he is much more of a threat than I realized. That power was nothing like the others that I have seen. He must be eliminated and I'll be the one to do so.'_ he thought as he picked up Quan Chi and created a portal back to the Dark temple and left. Yugi opened his eyes weakly and looked up to Yami.

"Yami...you came." he whispered. "Yes and I wished I had come sooner but everyone told me that I shouldn't because of Shao Khan being here but after hearing what he said, I couldn't just sit around and let you get killed." Yami replied softly, hugging the small body close. "I'm still happy...that you came..." Yugi whispered once more before falling unconscious. Yami felt his body becoming limp and he gasped. "Yugi? Yugi, don't black out on me now! Yugi!" Knowing it would be fruitless to worry about him, he adjusted Yugi in his arms before standing and creating a portal back to the temple and walked through.

"Yugi!" Everyone called as they ran over. "Move it!" Diamond yelled as she pushed through the worried group and took Yugi from Yami's arms and headed upstairs with the others following but she turned back to them. "Only Keara, Yami and Aqua." she said and some groaned as the three walked up behind her. When they reached Yugi's room, Diamond placed him on the bed and dealt with healing the bruises and small wounds while Keara worked on the nastier ones. Yami and Aqua only watched from the door and once they were done, they gave Yami and Aqua their condolences before they left, leaving them alone with the unconscious teen.

Yami looked over to the bed where Yugi rested before walking over and lied down beside him, resting his head in the crook of Yugi's neck and crystalline tears coursing down his face. "Yugi, my antwy ahku, please wake up soon. I don't want you to be this way anymore. I want to see those wonderful shining orbs of your eyes." Yami whispered, nuzzling his neck more. Aqua climbed into bed on the other side and that's how they stayed. Everyone didn't know how long but guessed that they won't participate in any more battles until Yugi wakes up...

Whenever that may be.

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Zypher: Well, relatively short but it still contained bunches of actions and now, an unconscious Yugi. Hoped you enjoyed and I'll see you later with another chapter:

Quan Chi's fatality - Daemon Rip: Quan Chi jumps towards his victim, getting on top of his shoulders. He then grabs his victim's head and pulls it upwards, stretching the neck in the process. The victim then falls to the ground screaming with his neck stretched. (kinda lame I say but hey, that's what they gave him)

Translation: Antwy ahku - My light


	24. Cold Blooded Sand

Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 23

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The others sat downstairs, still mourning over the fact of the exhaust of energy that attack took out of Yugi. Keara explained what was going on to those that didn't know. "So...this White Magic...was there some sort of importance to it?" Jou asked. "Yes. The White and Black Magics may be the only thing that will save the world from the wrath of Shao Khan. I'm sure the Earth warriors from before have sealed him away countless times before but these magics may be the ultimate attack that will finish him for good." she explained and they nodded. "And you're here to help them regain them." Keara nodded. "Yes but they alone are the ones that can truly bring out the full potential. I can unlock it to a certain point but Yami, Yugi and Aqua have to be in constant contact for them to unearth it even more." she explained.

"So the best thing we have is them so we can't let Shao Khan get his hands on any of them or we'll be done for sure." Malik murmured.

"But so far, it looks as if he doesn't want to hurt Yami or Aqua for that very power. His aims might be for Yugi..."

"But he'll never reach him as long as Yami and Aqua are alive. They will go berserk if anything happens to Yugi." Keara cut in.

"Be we have to be aware though. Anything can happen. Shao Khan doesn't know yet that Yami, Aqua and Yugi have the power to destroy him for good but still he goes after them. As long as he doesn't know that much, they will be safe." Raiden spoke as he walked into the room. They looked up to him before nodding. "Then the best course of action is to force his hand. Kill all his warriors since we have majority of them here. Without them, he'll have to go against us and hopefully by that time, the magics have been unearthed completely." Keara said and they all nodded in agreement to that. They all left the sitting room to go about their own business, Asmodeous heading upstairs to check on Yugi's condition along with Silver and Gaara.

He opened the door, letting the smaller in first before following behind them. Aqua looked up and nodded to them before relaxing once more. "Will he be ok?" Gaara asked as he looked to Aqua. "He'll be fine. The magic he used in that battled was premature since he wasn't ready to handle it at that caliber. They will heal him and recalibrate themselves and once that's done, he will wake." Gaara nodded and moved over to the bedside, climbing up and sitting down by Aqua's side.

"Do you need us to grab anything?" Silver asked.

"I'm good. Just tell me how the battles go if Yugi hasn't recovered in time." Silver nodded before he left along with Asmodeous.

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After the one day recess, the fights were back on. "Today, Kobra will be going against Gaara." Raiden spoke although they could hear it in his voice that he didn't want this battle to happen either. "What? That isn't fair! He's too young!" Diamond yelled in protest.

"Khan probably arranged the fight, thinking that Gaara is weak because he's young." Raiden spoke with a soft sigh. "He was adamant about it so I can do anything to change it." Gaara looked to everyone before moving over to Diamond, resting a hand over hers. She looked down to him before engulfing him a hug. "Be careful." she whispered and he nodded as he returned the hug. "I will, Diamond. Don't you worry." he said before letting go and walked over to Raiden. "This is insane. Khan is really pissing me off..." Malik muttered as he watched the two leave.

"I know but there is little we can do except fight and win. If anything, he really wants to get to Yugi and by taking out the weakest or someone that means alot to us, he feels as if he'll get to us quicker." Sonya murmured.

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Raiden and Gaara made it to the portal where Shao Khan and Kobra waited. One glance at his opponent sent Kobra keeling over in laughter. "That's my opponent? A weak little brat? This match is in the bag already!" he said in between peals of laughter. Gaara's eyes narrowed, sand shifting about him in reaction to his anger. "Alright you two, your arena will be Dark Prison." Khan spoke and they both nodded as the portal activated and they walked through. Once inside, both deities returned to their temples to watch the battle commence. Kobra cracked his shoulder a little before stepping into battle stance.

"Time for you to meet your death, kiddo." he whispered. Gaara's eyes held a cold gleam. He hated the demon within him but this time, after hearing all that Shao Khan was planning to do, he was ready to let it loose. Once the signal was give, Kobra charged in, ready the pound Gaara's face in. Sand skittered across the floor, unnoticed by Kobra since he was so focused on one thing and one thing only. "Take this!" he hollered, sending a punch straight at his face. The sand rose up into an impenetrable wall and he hissed as his fist connected hard with the barrier, feeling a couple bones snap out of place from the force behind it. "Augh! You little shit!" Kobra hissed as he sent a chi blast at him. Again, the sand protected Gaara before shooting out for its target.

"Shit!" He jumped back, trying to dodge the sand but it still followed, adamant to catch and engulf its target completely. Kobra growled as he sent another blast at him only to have it batted away. From the lair where Shao Khan watched, he growled angrily. "This is impossible! How can a mere child hold such power?"

"Looks like the earth warriors have upped their standards. Even if we did have those traitors back on our side, who knows if we could survive this time." Kira spoke. Khan growled once more, slamming a fist into the arm of the chair he was sitting in, breaking it easily. "I will not have this! Kira, tonight I want you to take Quan Chi and Shang Tsung with you. Their reign of power will end now." She nodded before leaving the room to Khan watching the failing match between Kobra and Gaara.

Kobra was starting to tire the more he dodged and knew he had to defeat the kid quickly. He wanted to impress Kira and this match may just be it if he could only get his hands on Gaara. _'But the sand makes it hard to reach him...' _he thought before spotting the only thing that would guarantee a win. He smirked and dashed for the boy, ducking and dodging sand. He grabbed a hold of him and Gaara gasped. The sand lunged in to grab Kobra but stopped short as he forcibly tossed the boy into the death trap of the arena. Gaara cried out as he hit the wall and winced, rubbing his back before hearing the grinding sound of the wall closing in on him. He looked both way, seeing that he was in a trap and glared at Kobra who watched him with a smug smirk. "Say goodnight, ya little brat!"

"Not on your life." he whispered as the sand wrapped around him, creating a orb of packed sand. The walls closed in on him more until they were halted, the screeching of the gears alerting Kobra that his idea wasn't going to work as easily as he thought. _'What is this kid...'_

Soon, the sand fell and the walls slam shut but not on their intended target. "Hey? Where is that brat!" he hissed as he looked around. A pool of sand emerged from behind him and out came Gaara, eyes narrowed and sand agitated as it circled around Kobra's feet. The other fighter gasped as he was overwhelmed by the sand, arms bound down to his sides and his head was the only thing free. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"The same thing you tried to do to me. I hate people who call me names. I came from a village that shunned and despise me for this very power. But when I found my way here, I was able to find people who care and fight for a cause that could affect many worlds. And I will help them by getting rid of scum like you." he whispered, sand tightening around him and Kobra yelped as he felt a couple bones snap under pressure. "And now, let me return the favor." Kobra screamed in agony as Gaara shattered the bones of his legs, leaving them useless before tossing him into the death trap. Kobra tried futilely to crawl out of the trap before it closed on him but fate definitely wasn't on his side and with one final scream, the wall slammed closed on him, the only thing of him that remained was his arm which was the only thing that was able to get out of the trap before it closed.

The sand skittered across the floor, grabbing the limb and absorbed it for the beast within as a portal appeared. Gaara walked through it, coming back out into the forest and sighed. "Gaara!" Diamond cried as she ran over with Raiden not far behind her. "Oh, Gaara I was so worried! I'm so glad you made it out of that alive." He smiled and held his arms up to her and she reached down to pick him up. "I'm sleepy, Diamond. Can we go back now?" She nodded with a smile. "Of course." she whispered and turned, nodding to Raiden and they both returned back to the temple.

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As night fell, Khan deciding to let his fighters take the rest of the day to train and prepare themselves better for he wasn't planning to lose again, everyone was in the sitting room praising Gaara for his win. They weren't expecting for him to make it out the battle alive as Khan hoped but he proved him wrong quite well. "Tell me, Gaara, can anyone penetrate the sand around you?" Ryou asked.

"Not really. The demon inside me does well to protect its host so whenever I'm in battle, it could be near impossible to hurt me as long as trick aren't involved that could cause me to lower my guard. Only then will someone be able to hurt me badly." he explained and he nodded. "I see." The girls with help from Jou and Kaiser finished up dinner and called everyone in to eat, Asmodeous taking a plate up for Yami and Aqua. After they were done, they talked for a while longer before heading up to bed, unaware of the danger that waited for them once the lights went out.

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Zypher: And there you have it. Another long awaited chapter with danger around every corner. Soon, we'll be getting the big battles soon enough since Khan will eventually be jumping in the fray soon enough. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed and tomorrow's the last day for voting in my poll about Capsule Monsters although the decision for yes is going in by a landslide. [it was originally going to be today but I decided to give people who hadn't voted yet an extra day to vote]. Alrighty! See ya all later with another chapter!


	25. Late Night Challenges

Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 24

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It was silent as the night went on, Yami and Aqua taking shifts over watching Yugi. Asmodeous did his duties and ventured through the shrine to make sure that no intruders made their way in. All of them were sure of such and knew they had to be on guard, even in their sleep. But even with Asmodeous' careful guarding, Shang Tsung, Kira and Quan Chi still found a way around his watch and got inside. "If anything, I say we tackle Raiden. Get rid of him and nothing will stop Khan." Kira murmured softly as they started searching for the rooms of the ex Dark Warriors. "Split up. The faster we get this done, the better." Shang whispered and they nodded before heading in separate directions. Kira was getting close to where Seto and Ruby resided but ducked deep into the shadow when she heard the grinding of Asmodeous' blade against the floor. She knew she was dead of the other knew she was there but luck was on her side as the other kept walking until he was out of sight.

She stood once more and checked the room, seeing that Seto and Ruby were there and asleep. She smirked as she whipped out her weapons, ready to take them out. She went for Ruby first and raised her blade over his neck. "Time to die." she whispered as she went to stab at his neck but was quickly blocked by the shaft of the lance, ruby eyes glittering darkly in the room. "Trying to assassinate me, hmm? Tough shit." he hissed as he kicked his legs up, knocking her back. He jumped up from the bed, glaring down at Kira who recovered and was prepared to fight. "Shao Khan says you need to die. You're giving too much of an edge for the wrong side." she hissed.

"Well tell him to shove it." Another voice said and she turned to see that Seto was up as well, his twin blue dragon swords at the ready.

"You will pay."

"Not if we don't make _you_ pay first." Seto hissed before lunging towards Kira.

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Shang continued to wander, also hiding when Asmodeous made a pass. He peeked into one of the rooms, seeing it was Bakura's. He shared it with Ryou since he wouldn't take no for an answer and he also wanted to be close to the other should something like this happen. Shang smirked as he entered the room silently and looked down to the bed where they slumbered. "Sleep soundly, Bakura, for this will be the last breath you ever draw." he whispered as he got prepared to take him out but gasped, stumbling back as a fiery hell hound leapt at him. He back-flipped to dodge another swipe from the hound and growled. "Guess I need to take you out first before I can complete my goal." The hell hound growled darkly before leaping at him once more.

_'This better not take long, the fast I get this done, the faster I can take out the rest.'_ Shang thought, ready to guard from the next attack.

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Quan Chi had a personal goal in mind. He hated the child that knocked him out with every fiber of his being. _'That little brat will pay for shaming me in front of Shao Khan. Even though we have another secret plan in mind, I will not be hindered by some tiny little boy.'_ he thought as he continued searching through rooms. If a room had someone in it on their target list but not the person he was looking for, he closed the door and continued on. He eventually found the room that Yugi shared with Yami and Aqua and grinned darkly as he walked into the room. "Now, time to enact my revenge on you, child." he whispered as he started towards the bed. But before he could do anything, a hiss was heard and he dodged back to avoid a swipe from Dae Raca. He and Cynec came out of hiding and Quan Chi growled. "Another nuisance." he hissed and Dae Raca growled.

/Your presence is not wanted here. Either leave or we'll take you down./ he growled and Quan Chi glared at him. "You don't have a chance against me and my power. You're nothing but pests that will die easily." Quan Chi spoke. Cynec growled before lunging at the other but Quan Chi ducked the lunge with ease before kicking the dragon out of the way. Dae Raca was the next to attack but instead of lunging for his face like Quan Chi was expecting, he aimed for his feet, biting down hard on his shin which caused him to hiss in pain and tried to pry the monster off on him. While he was distracted with that did Cynec get back up and clawed down his back, leaving angry red marks there. Quan Chi snarled before sending out a burst of power which shoved them both into opposite walls. The surge woke Yami and he growled as he sat up and looked to see Quan Chi there.

"I knew that you would show your pale face soon enough. What do you want here?" he questioned.

"The boy's life. I'll easily let you off if you let me have him." Quan Chi spoke and Yami barked a laugh as he stepped off the bed, holding a hand out and his blade materialized in his hands. "Over my dead body." he hissed. Quan Chi smirked. "As you wish. That can be easily arranged." he spoke as he got ready for the battle.

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After the hell hound was defeated, Shang Tsung turned to the bed where his prey waited but he cursed when he saw his target was awake. "You're a fool to think you'll be able to get away with this." Bakura murmured as he readied himself for battle. Tsung chuckled as he gazed at the warrior before him. "You were a fool to leave when ultimate power was being presented to you. But I guess only foolish ones would take the life of a lovestruck commoner over power when the resources provide to be available to him." he spoke with a sneer and Bakura growled as he glared the other man down. "You will pay for those words." he hissed.

Tsung only laughed. "Bring it on then, you pathetic gnat." he hissed before the two lunged at one another, Bakura with his katana and Tsung with his straight sword.

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Kira growled angrily as she was foiled time and again by one of Seto's retaliations. She could barely make a scratch on him which pissed her off even more. "You will die!" she hissed as she went to toss one of her Dragon Teeth down at his feet to pin him temporarily. He dodged the attack which is just the opening she needed and smirked as she used her traditional Kiss of Death smog at him. He gasped as he was covered in the purple mist, rendering him blind temporarily. Kira grinned as she reclaimed her blade and charged for Seto, ready to gut him. A roar shattered the silence as the Red Eyes landed before her, knocking her into the other wall with her tail.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jou growled from the bed. "None of your business, mutt! Now if you wish to live, you'll butt out!" Kira growled. "Not when my lover's life is on the line. Red Eyes, hit her again!" he called and the dragon roared again before slamming Kira into the wall a second time before she could react, breaking the wall in the process. The sound caught Asmodeous' attention and he quickly made his way into that very direction to stop whoever was in the temple.

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The battle between Yami and Quan Chi raged on, neither gaining the upper hand. Yugi and Aqua were eventually awakened but Aqua kept Yugi from jumping into the fight since he could take one guess why Quan Chi was here. "The boy will die here and I will kill you if it means reaching him!" Quan Chi hissed as he made another slash at Yami. Yami jumped back before allowing his tail to show and swung it at Quan Chi. "Not on your life! You will pay for daring to step in here with such thoughts!" Yami hissed as he made another attack with his sword.

"Should we go tell Raiden that they're here?" Aqua called from the bed, wings protecting Yugi should Quan Chi try something. "Yes, go ahead and do so now." Yami replied as he parried another one of his blows before dashing forward to hinder Quan Chi from attacking them before they could escape. "Hold onto me, Yugi." Aqua whispered as he stood. Yugi nodded and held Aqua tightly. "No!" Quan Chi hissed as he tossed a broad sword towards them. Aqua hissed menacingly before jumping back into the shadows, melding into the shadows and leaving the sword to embedded into the wall. Yami gave a nod before raising a hand. "Now that my little one is safe, time to deal with you. You're free to make your escape but you won't make it out unscathed." he hissed as his eyes glowed, the dark room now becoming his weapon.

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Tsung growled as he knelt down onto the ground, his exhaustion showing in his moves from the burns and small lacerations. Bakura smirked as he looked down to his victim. "Now, what did you learn? If it's nothing then I guess I'll have to let you lose a limb to prove my point." he sneered. Tsung growled as he glared up to Bakura. "You think you've won. you're sadly mistaken. Shao Khan is only a piece in this elaborate game. A much stronger evil will soon present himself and when he does, you'll wish to be on the right side of things to avoid a painful death!" Tsung growled before sending a flaming skull at Bakura who easily batted it away but it gave Tsung the opportunity to run off before he could come after him.

When the skull was cleared, he growled when he saw Tsung gave him the slip. "Damn, and I wanted to make him into a pyre stick." he grumbled but was glad at least for the small victory and returned to bed.

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Kira yelped as she rolled across the ground, avoiding another swipe from Asmodeous who growled and went after her again. She dodged his attack only to be sideswiped by the Red Eyes as she charged at her. Seto stood back, waiting to catch her should she avoid both powerhouses that were tackling her. She growled, knowing she wouldn't be able to make it out alive if things kept going the way they were. _'Guess I underestimated things a little too much...'_ she thought before jumping back to avoid another slash.

"You win this round but mark my words, you will fall by my hands, Seto!" she hissed before releasing a larger plume of her Kiss of Death move, covering a wider range of the room to blind them all. Jou cursed. "Asmodeous! Get her!" Jou called and the creature snarled as he swung his Great Knife at the door, hitting nothing but the frame. Red Eyes hissed as she flapped her wings to get rid of the smoke with a gust and saw that Kira escape. "Bitch..." Jou grumbled before looking to Seto. "You ok?"

"Of course. She was no match for me but that damn Kiss of Death attack of her was becoming a pain. But I'll make sure she pays for it." he murmured and Jou nodded. "I will too if I get into a battle with her." he said proudly and Seto chuckled before looking to Asmodeous. "Thanks for coming. It was a surprise to see that she slipped past you but I guess a snake in the grass like her knows how to hide from the strongest of enemies." he said and Asmodeous nodded before leaving to continue his rounds, now keeping a close eye on things so no one else would have to deal with another break in.

"Let's get back to sleep. Now I'm pumped to kick some Dark Warrior ass after tonight." Jou murmured and Seto nodded as he moved back into bed with his lover.

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Raiden was awoken by Aqua and Yugi's appearance and after getting a quick explanation of the situation, he nodded and followed them back to their room. "Wait." Aqua whispered as he listened closely. "What's wrong?" Raiden questioned. "Yami's using the shadows. It won't be safe to go in there." he murmured as he looked to them. Raiden nodded before looking to Yugi. "Who is attacking?" he asked.

"Quan Chi. Yami woke up first and started fighting him once he learned of his motive."

"And what was it?"

"To kill me for the battle we had before."

Aqua tsked softly. "Must've not like the idea of being shown up in what he considered an easy battle. He's a fool to underestimate your power." he murmured before hearing a cry from the room. "I got this!" he said before ducking away into the nearest shadows. "Aqua!" Yugi cried and went to run for the room but was held back by Raiden. "Let them handle this." he murmured and Yugi whimpered a little before nodding. It was a couple minutes before the sound of glass breaking was heard. The door was opened and Yami stepped out, wounded just barely. "He got away. He pulled a fast one on both of us and escaped through the window." he explained and Raiden nodded.

"At least you protected Yugi. I'm sure he wasn't the only one that came in here with some sort of goal. If they got themselves past Asmodeous, then we might need another person to patrol the halls with him." Raiden said. "I agree. We should have a meeting about this tomorrow before the fights." Yami spoke and Raiden nodded. "Well, I'll leave you to your sleep. Now that we shooed him off, he probably won't come back." Raiden spoke before heading back to his own room. Yugi walked inside with Yami and after a quick explanation of what happened, the three warriors went to sleep to prepare for the day tomorrow.

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Zypher: And done. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you later with a new one. Ja ne, my dear readers.


	26. The Kid Gloves are Off

Challenge of the Kombat

Chapter 25

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The next morning was nothing short of eventful as the women prepared meals for the fighters and themselves and while the ate, Raiden appeared into the room. "Looks as if Shao Kahn is pulling all the stops to try and ruin our team. Last night we had confirmed attacks by three of his new fighters and they have managed to sneak their way past Asmodeous but luckily you all stood firm against them and got rid of them promptly." he spoke.

"Well if we didn't, you be short a few good warriors." Bakura muttered and grunted when he was nudged in the side. "True but I still believe in all of you regardless of strength but now is the time to step up and fight to win." Raiden spoke and they all now, Yami smirking. "So it's a full out assault now. I can handle that." he said. "Me too. I need to cut loose." Seto murmured, cracking his knuckles and Raiden chuckled. "I'm happy to have all of your support." he spoke and they nodded. "So exactly how long will it take before Shao Kahn himself steps up to face us?" Yugi questioned.

"If we knock out all of his fighters, he'll take the stand and that's when we'll defeat him for good for the safety of all the realms." Raiden said and all the fighters nodded their consent to the plan. "Now, the morning lineup has been decide, Marik, you're up against Kano in the Nethership Interior." he spoke and Marik grinned sharply. "Good, I need to let loose after last time." he said as he moved to stand and follow the other out. "Be careful, Marik." Malik called. The other turned back to him and blew him a kiss before he was out the door and Malik smiled. "So, getting used to him now?" Aqua questioned from beside him. "Yeah. I thought he was some sort of psychopath...well, he still is but one with a good heart for the right people." he said and the other chuckled before everyone filed out from the kitchen and took a seat in the sitting room to watch the upcoming battle.

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When they reached the portal, Marik and Kano glared at each other from the opposite sides of the area when they walked in, Shao Kahn sending a glare of his own towards the former dark warrior. "This will be coming to an end soon, Shao Kahn. We will not let you interfere with the realms any longer." Raiden spoke and Shao Kahn gave a snort of anger. "We'll see about that. I may have lost a good portion of my warriors thanks to the meddling of your own but they will pay dearly for betraying me." he spoke.

"Yeah right. We're going to smear the palace courtyard with your guts." Marik snapped with a growl.

"Mind your tongue, demon!"

"Enough!" Raiden boomed over the two fighters and Marik hissed but stepped back. "Settle it on the battlefield." They both nodded and once the portal was ready, they stepped through and landed in the Nethership interior. The ship creaked and moaned as it moved, swinging bodies hanging by ropes swinging along with the Nethership swaying. They landed on a platform resting above the large area below and Marik smirked as he flexed his hands before shadows consumed them and turned into claws. "Let's see what you can do, red-eye." Kano sneered from the other side of the field as he readied himself with his Aikido fighting style. Once they were given the signal, they leapt into the battle. Marik was furious as he went to swipe at Kano, claws nicking skin as the other made to dodge the wild swipes.

"Don't think you can escape me, red-eye!" he snarled, a tail of shadow sweeping out and caught Kano by surprise, flinging him through the banister and onto the lower level. He grunted and glared at the shadow manipulator as he landed before him, grinning all the while before charging at him again.

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"Jeez, I knew he was insane but he's a beast when allowed to let go." Jou murmured before looking to the former warriors of the dark. "I'm surprised he didn't tear into any of you with a lust for blood."

"He could try but he wouldn't get far." Yami murmured and Malik nodded. "Yeah, he may be a beast but he probably knows when he's outmatched, especially if he had to deal with someone like Yami or Aqua trying to stop him." Malik said and they nodded as they continued to watch the fight. Kano was being made quite the joke with the swinging bodies hindering him and knocking into him every time he went to make another charge for Marik. Said demon cackled as he swung on one of the ropes. "What's wrong, red-eye? Can't handle it?" he questioned.

"Shut up and get your ass down here so I can destroy you!" Kano snarled as the bionic eye lit up and shot a laser at the rope Marik was hanging off from, snapping it cleanly but instead of him falling, he used the momentum of the fall to lunge at the other who was readying another shot with his bionic eye. Kano made a sound as he was tackled down and clawed nastily across the chest. Marik gave a hiss before leaping back, standing next to the prone body. He looked to it and back to Kano before getting a wicked idea and waited for him to get back up once more. Kano groaned but he was pissed as he stood. "I'm going to kill you." he snarled as he brought out his Butterfly knives and got ready to chuck them at the demon. His tail swayed as he waited and when the knives came at him, shadows lifted up the prone body, hearing a soft thunk as both knives hit before he chucked the body at him which he proceeded to burn to a crisp with his eye.

But doing so left him open and when Kano looked about, trying to figure out where the other was, he didn't see the growing shadows beneath him. Kano snarled as he feet sunk into the shadows below him and he tried his hardest to get his feet free. Marik peeked his head from the shadows and grinned before ducking back down and soon draged Kano underneath with him. It was silent before the opponent shot out, lacerations and tears in his clothes marking his first lost as Marik leapt out through the shadows that formed back into his own shadow on the ground. "Ready to give up yet, red-eye?"

"Not on your life, demon." Kano snarled as he moved to stand. "Hmm, such a shame. Guess I better up the ante then." he said as the signal for the second round was given and he roared as wings weaved by shadows sprouted from his back as he took for the air. There was limited space in the interior but he made due with what he had. Kano snarled in anger as he watched the other, trying to predict what his move was going to be. But of course, he didn't take into consideration of his shadow manipulation even when off the ground. Kano's shadow darkened underneath him before tendrils shot up, wrapping around him and he growled as he tried to free himself only for the tendrils to tightened around him and he could feel a few bones ready to fracture under the pressure. Marik smirked. "Like a cornered little mouse. And the cat is ready to play." he spoke before shooting down, every pass he made leaving a nasty gash somewhere on Kano from blade-like talons. Evetually, the assault stopped and he landed.

He grinned up to the other before moving over to him and grabbed the base of the tendrils, picking them up like handy ropes and smirked as he glanced up to Kano hovering in the air like a ragdoll. "This will be a warning to Shao Kahn. We will kill his scrawny little ass soon enough." he said before singing down, slamming Kano into the ground. He lifted him up and slammed him down and repeated the process until he was left an unconscious, bloody mess on the floor for Shao Kahn to pick up later as he was declared the winner. The shadows dispersed from him and around Kano as the portal opened up and he left through, follow Raiden back while Shao Kahn was left to drag Kano's body back to his temple, cursing his former warriors to the depths of Hell itself.

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"Whoa, Marik! You were fierce out there!" Malik said as he walked in and Marik grinned. "That's what you get when you let me have fun." he replied. "Man, if that's your idea of fun, I fear how you are when you're serious." Silver murmured from his place. Some chuckled and settled down for the interval they had before the next fight for the day. With that time and the limited amount of fighters they knew were on Kahn's side of the game, they didn't have much longer to train themselves for the kiling power of the Black and White Magics they needed to finish him off for good. "Do you think we can really beat him?" Yugi asked. "I'm sure we can. If he vies for our power this much to have on his side, then that means that even he fears what we're capable of." Yami replied as he settled down and began to meditate. Yugi gave a nod and began to start his own meditation and the three continued on, no one coming out to disturb them even when the interval was over and Raiden announced the next fighter to go up.

"Ruby, you'll be taking on Goro in his very own lair." Raiden spoke and Topaz shivered after remembering what happened last time he went up against the four armed fiend. And Kaiser was no stranger to that battle either and frowned as he watched Ruby get up and was ready to go. "Ruby, don't get yourself killed." he whispered.

"I won't, Kaiser. I promise." he said, summoning his Garnet Lance and followed Raiden out to the portal. When they got there, Goro was already waiting there, upper arms crossed while the second half pounded a fist into his hands. "I made an example of one cat, what's another?" he said with a smirk and Ruby growled before the portal led to Goro's Lair and they stepped through. When they landed on their sides of the field, Goro brought out his Dragon Fangs and smirked as the signal was given and he charged for the other. Ruby stood there, waiting for his charge and when he got close enough, he hissed in warning before unfurling his wings and shot up over Goro's charge, swinging back with his lance and left a gash over the monster's back who screeched in pain and stumbled. Ruby landed and glared at the other before making his own charge while Goro was disoriented and made a few stabs at his back in rapid succession before he was flung back by an arm.

Goro snarled in pain, blood dripping along his back before he gathered four fireballs in hand, tossing all four at the other. Ruby hopped up and seeing the fireballs, readied himself. "You'll have to do better to match my cunning, big guy." he spoke as he knocked away each fireball with his lance with ease. Goro growled in anger before charging again, swinging out with a sai and Ruby blocked the hit. Of course, Goro knew his advantage with having an extra pair of arms now all he had to do was trip up his opponent enough to grab it. So that's what he did, he swung out at Ruby with all four arms and what Ruby couldn't block led to a nick on his face or arms from Goro's weapon. Eventually, his moment came where he was able to grab Ruby with his lower arms and smirked.

"Any last words before I finish you off?"

"Yeah, think fast!"

But the warning was late enought that Goro couldn't react to the tail, now wielding the lance, swung up and slammed him in the side of the head, the stun leaving Ruby free to escape. "You should learn better that us characters with tails are very versatile with them." he murmured as the behemoth fell over, giving Ruby the first win and he smirked as he took the lance back in hand and waited for Goro to get up. He did so and growled in anger, knowing Shao Kahn would be ashamed of him if he lost when he had such amazing power to give to beat his opponent into a bloody smear on the ground. When the signal was given he charged, locking weapons with the other as they fought across the field. Ruby knew he was getting close to be cornered against a wall and wouldn't give Goro the satisfaction of doing such so when ready, he blocked another swing of a fist and made a low sweep, knocking Goro down once more. He leapt on top of him, stabbing the lance through one wrist as he gazed down at him. "I could very well stab you through the heart and end it at that but that would ruin what fun I've gotten out of this tournament so far. So let's keep up the game, shall we?" he questioned with a smirk as he leapt off the other but hissed when his tail was grabbed and he was lifted and swing into the opposite wall.

"I won't be made a fool of!" Goro roared as he stood and went charging for the downed opponent. "No, you won't be, just an example like the last one." Ruby murmured as he waited and when Goro was close, he shot the lance forward, impaling the other through his stomach and he screeched in agonizing pain. But it didn't end there as Ruby gripped the lance with both hands and with a show of strength that surprised even Goro, he swung it overhead and sent Goro through the wall, ending the match as he hopped back up. "Again, never underestimate my cunning. Especially when I was on your team once before." he said, swiping away a dribble of blood from his cheek before leaving through the portal when it opened.


End file.
